Grace of the Fallen
by TheSadGuy666
Summary: Naruto's mind is shattered over time due to abuse and neglect, and then when he has enough, Naruto embarks on a journey of the ages, a journey of revenge, of perfect insanity. Graphic Blood, Horrific Violence, Mutilation, Torture, etc.
1. The Irony of Life Itself

First fan fiction, so be cautious, although I am told I write well regardless. Plenty of negative emotions, characterization, POV, and different views of the same events clash.

The expected amount of Chapters including this chapter: 12. Expect some to be graciously long, and some to be unfortunately short; I will aim for 10k on average per chapter.

Inspired by the song "Grace" by Lamb of God, along with songs from the Final Fantasy 9 soundtrack; inspiration was also taken from Final Fantasy 9, for I really enjoy Final Fantasy 9. This is also slightly inspired by Shakespeare's dramas.

Once again this is my first fan fiction writing, so please give me constructive criticism, what you like, don't like, what you would like to see me change, what you would like me to add, etc. I have this story entirely planned out from start to finish, so if anyone would want to give me an idea for a second story give me some ideas, please!

[I don't own the characters or world of Naruto, because if I did, Orochimaru would not be gay.]

First Epic Fic (100k+)

Enjoy Chapter 1: The Irony of Life Itself

"…And so, as seconds pass into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, days into weeks and into months and years, I finally realized without any trace of doubt that I was a jest. A living comedy perhaps made solely for the purpose of entertainment of a higher power? Or is it that I was created as a scapegoat for the fears, inadequacies, and unhappiness of the inhabitants of my homeland? Regardless of "truth" as of now and the true purpose of me living to this day, I have survived. In no small part this is due to my resiliency, however I have not escaped unscarred, for deep, permanent, and unforgiving serrated scars constantly tear and grind at my mind and torment what's left of my sanity. I can no longer feel anything but negativity, in all of its forms from sadness to anger to hatred to paranoia. I feel these now as naturally as one feels "normal" emotions, leaving me what people call 'abnormal,' which in my mind is an improvement, for without careless positive emotions running amok, without happiness to delude myself, without friendship to lessen the true load of MY humanity, without concern of other people to cloud and confuse my natural judgment, I feel more than human. Given, it is hard for me to even consider feeling what is considered 'normal,' as I haven't felt those... dreaded emotions for many years. At many times I feel nearly 'normal' and therefore grieve my disposition with the people I am forced to be around and live with, I feel worthless, empty and meaningless; I lament living a single day of this 'hell' and I despise every single person who has ever wronged me and even more the people who I see blindly living happily, when I have done nothing to them on a personal level. Most of the time however, I feel as if I am 'god,' that I am more than any human, that without emotion, without lament nor happiness, I am an empty shell, eager to absorb knowledge and power and free to make decisions not based in morality and "righteousness," the path to true power in this retrospect is not obscured, but free to my manipulation and my advantage. However, I digress, I am sure you may wonder, 'Who is this speaking?' or something akin to 'Why bother with the introduction?' and the answer is: 'My mind on a constant basis regularly rewinds time to relive the most important aspects of my past, and the best way to reflect on my life is with none other than my true reflection,'" thought a young child, no more than 13, as he stared at his blank, empty void of eyes in the cracked and dirty looking glass in front of him.

This young child is Naruto, and he was born in a time of chaos, and happened to be born in the wrong place and at the wrong time; simply coincidentally, his life was forfeit as a sacrifice as soon as he as born due to unforeseen circumstances which neither he nor his mother nor his mysterious father could control. From what the boy knew after years of subtle investigations and subterfuge, he understood that his parents were both important people, although who exactly they were, he knew not. They just happened to have him as their son and he happened to be born the day a demon attacked their home village, the Village hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure no Sato. This demon was one of 9, named the Bijuu, who were immensely powerful creatures of pure chakra, which is the force by which all life exists. The Bijuu that attacked the fateful day Naruto was born was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, a powerful fox demon that was strongest of the 9; its tails are said to be extremely powerful, enough so that one swipe of which could level mountains, create tsunamis, tornados, and fire storms. This terrible demon was mysteriously sighted outside the village of Konoha quite soon after Naruto's birth, and the only way for the Yondaime, or the Fourth Hokage, to defeat this beast was to seal it away in a newborn infant, and the only one available that accursed day was Naruto himself. And so, since birth, Naruto has been both cursed and blessed to carry this vengeful, angry, wrathful, and psychotic demon within his body and be the target of hatred and loathing of his fellow villagers, who lost many loved ones during the beast's rampage. At the same time however, Naruto was blessed with inhuman power, chakra levels, stamina and might, and had an unwilling but beneficial "voice" in his head that always gave advice and suggestions.

However, even as the Yondaime's dying breath was the wish for Naruto to be treated as a heroic figure for saving the village, the Sandaime Hokage, or the third Hokage who was previously retired before the sacrifice of the Yondaime, told the adults and elder council members of Naruto's status as Jinchuriki, believing they would understand Naruto's predicament. The adults simply exploded at the release of this information, demanding Naruto's execution immediately as penance for the Nine Tail's aforementioned destruction and murder of hundreds of people in the village. Simply disturbed by lack of remorse of the people to even a new born child, the Sandaime Hokage released a new law, that those who knew of Naruto's predicament were not allowed to release this information to others with a penalty of death, as the Sandaime sought to at least allow the younger generation to not treat Naruto with such distaste as the elder generation did. And even with this law, and although nobody spoke of Naruto's occupant, the dread, hatred, fear, and anger at Naruto was passed down to the younger generation although they did not understand the reason why. Due to the mistake of releasing this information to the older generations, Sarutobi the Sandaime Hokage did not anticipate that Naruto's orphanage caretakers would mistreat him severely, that other children would even mistreat him and be rewarded for it, and that he was severely malnourished and neglected, even as a child. Sarutobi knew some of this would happen, but he did not even know the tip of the iceberg of atrocities committed against Naruto until years after he was born into this world set against him…

Naruto's most distant memories were filled with even the taste of pure hatred, the smell of it enough to choke one foolish enough to ask about his past. For as Naruto grew and became more physically able, he was more and more severely beaten as a child, even to near death. The first memory that Naruto can pull from his miserable and abused mind is one of neglect and hatred. It was when Naruto himself was still living at the orphanage, along with many other children, most victims of the Kyuubi attack a few years ago. Naruto is alone in a small closet, with stale food on a plate on the floor, thus allowing insects and other vermin to gorge themselves on the boy's "food." Due to his diet being like this for many years, he was extremely malnourished, to the point of near starvation on a constant basis. This day seemed as dreary and bleak as every other day in Naruto's mind, except today was filled with his innocent need for hope; today was the day of hope for all the orphans, for today there would be a multitude of potential parental units there to adopt, as today was the monthly orphanage "open house" so to speak. All that Naruto was concerned with however was that he would be able to leave his "room" and be able to see other people from outside the orphanage, the first time since last month's open house.

Naruto sat impatiently in the dark and otherwise uninhabitable room, awaiting his chance for the caretakers to bring him out with the other children. He could not simply exit, for upon entering and exiting his room, his door was always locked to keep him in and away from people who despised him, or keep him out if he did something wrong such as annoying a caretaker and decided to run into his room. Regardless, Naruto waited. He heard the multitude of footsteps and general commotion made by large crowds of people, eagerly awaiting his chance of seeing them all with his fellow orphans, "Maybe this time," thought the innocent young boy, "maybe this time I'll get a mommy and daddy, too!"

He heard as the caretakers presented themselves, making sure all the potential parents present knew exactly who was taking care of the children, teaching the children, and doing everything for the children… As they prolonged their speech, Naruto became more impatient, he was ready to exit his room and see his future parents. Then the part he awaited for came, the lineup of all available orphans in front of the crowd of people. Although many children were nervous, their need for parents kept them calm, they wanted to have their own as soon as possible. Naruto waited. About this time, as always, he would be released and told sternly by a caretaker with an angry tone in their voice not to do anything stupid or he would be without supper for a week again. However as he heard the storm of younger and older children rushing past his door into the adoption hall, he heard the heavy footsteps of a caretaker following the miniature crowd of people. He heard the heavy footsteps stop by his door, as the children stampeded away, eager for parental love and care. He could tell this heavy-footed person was the only one in the hallway outside his dark room now, and he impatiently waited and whined to himself waiting for the door to be opened. "Please open the door, Mr. Caretaker! I want to be adopted like the other kids!"

As he waited for an answer for the heavy footed person outside his door, he slowly heard a noise… a noise he recognized and filled his innocent heart with dread and sadness… Naruto was hearing that chuckle. Not the chuckle one hears when an older orphan tells a funny joke to the little ones, not the kind of chuckle you hear the adults make when they lock themselves in the bathroom across the hall from Naruto's door, the chuckle Naruto hears when malice is about and evil intentions are made. He knows this chuckle quite well, and as one as Naruto would know, he was scared. "Hahahaha, you're such a stupid brat! Like anyone would ever adopt a defect such as you. You deserve no happiness, you deserve no parents, and you don't even deserve to eat that food we so graciously give you! Shut up, you stupid brat, and let the other kids have a chance to be happy and away from you." Naruto heard the footsteps go down the hall towards the adoption hall and as Naruto registered what was told, he sat down in his scraps of cloth he used as a bed and cried. Many days and nights, no matter how Naruto acted nor what he did, the caretakers would be cruel to him. Naruto did not understand why. Sometimes he would blame himself for asking for more food, or being too loud when he coughed when he was sick, and that one time he was given food when the orphanage was running short on it and he puked it back up, that time he was beaten for wasting precious food. He always felt sorry afterwards for misbehaving, but this was a new level of cruelty and Naruto understood now that this was his punishment for everything he did. He was no longer allowed to go to the adoption hall during open house ever again. Naruto curled up inside his cloth scraps of a bed that he shared on many occasions with rats and cried at the cruelty of his caretakers. He knew he was a bad boy, but he could never understand why they were so mean to him and so nice to all the other children. And so, without a cushion for the mental and emotional blows to him, Naruto's mind over time has sewn the seeds of paranoia and sociopathic tendencies.

Only a few years later, Naruto left the orphanage, or rather he was ousted by the spiteful caretakers that despised him so much. Since that point in time, Sarutobi the Third Hokage was quite concerned with Naruto. Only hearing of this atrocity days after it occurred, to which the Hokage was furious about, he immediately gave Naruto an apartment for him to live in, although the boy was still only 7 years old. He also began teaching the boy basic shinobi tactics in his spare time, in order for the boy to protect himself.

Needless to say, due to the ignorant hatred of the villagers, Naruto's apartment was vandalized weekly, if not daily, and he was cornered every time ANBU had their backs turned and beaten to a bloody mess. This occurred multiple times, the boy's psyche not doing too well. Every single time, the Hokage appeared in a flash with his most trusted guards, intent on dealing the punishment of death to all those who would attack this innocent boy. Under the interrogation, many claimed that the "Kyuubi" hypnotized them into attacking him, so that he could get his enemies out of the way. The Hokage and interrogators were furious at this outburst to which all the other attackers agreed to, thus silencing them permanently via kunai to the throat. Sadly, even with the Hokage's law supposedly allowing Naruto to live normally and his own apartment and bimonthly allowance, he was still abused, mistreated, tortured, captured numerous times, starved, nearly assassinated countless times, and much more horrible actions. One particular action against him has scarred Naruto more deeply than any other terrible day, for even the horrendous Orphanage caretakers and the mobs of drunken villagers couldn't amount to the distress from the worst day of Naruto's young, ruined life…

It was a typical day, Naruto was scavenging for food at the age of eight due to the overpriced food all the stores seemed to have, when he heard the tell-tale sign of a mob approaching from the far side of the alley he was scavenging in behind a restaurant. Naruto saw the apparently alcohol-influenced mob approaching him, many holding dangerous household implements, others with broken bottles, and some with half-empty bottles they were still busy drinking. Of course Naruto at this point understood what would happen if he could not escape quickly enough, as the ANBU always seemed to be "late" when saving him, allowing at least a few minutes of torture to take place with the boy. He crouched low to the ground and ran quickly away from the mob, which was apparently outraged at his audacity of simple self-preservation.

"Kill that demon!"

"Avenge all those who have died!"

"BURP!"

"Quickly before the damnable ANBU arrive! And don't burp in my face, you idiot!"

"Can you spare some sake?"

Naruto ran more quickly than before in a full sprint, quite intent on leaving the alley before anymore people arrive to "do justice" to the "demon child," when he heard the saving grace that was multiple ninja appearing behind him using the shunshin. When Naruto turned with somewhat hopeful eyes to see his "saviors," he was shocked to see not his regular ANBU guards, but impostors, with swords drawn, facing Naruto.

"AHA! The ANBU have decided to aid us in this holy task! Demon, meet your doom!"

Once he realized what was about to happen, Naruto silently pleaded for a god-send, a savior to keep him from the agony he knew was imminent. It never came in time.

By the time Sarutobi heard of this latest violence, he hurriedly gathered his trustworthy sentinels when he realized that four were missing… He quickly used a shunshin to the alleyway where a large gang was being detained when he saw the four who were missing. They betrayed his commands, instead they sought to dispose of the Yondaime's very own flesh and blood, punishable by six days and six nights of torture, before an execution as dishonorable men and women are given. His face was livid as he saw they who were once his "trusted" ANBU, they laughed manically at Sarutobi.

"It's too late, Hokage! The little demon is dead! WE AVENGED KONOHA! Hahahaha!" the delusional ANBU screamed before he was harshly backhanded by a furious Hokage into a nearby concrete wall, cracking it severely as the ninja slumped to the ground silent and motionless, probably to never move again.

"ANBU! Take all of these… these MONSTERS to the Torture and Interrogation division! NOW! They are all to be executed, and the traitorous ANBU dishonorably discharged, tortured, and executed!" As the Sandaime ended his righteous fury, he quickly hurried off to the end of the alley to see if… well he didn't want to think Naruto was no longer living… He couldn't have possibly failed his most important mission… Thankfully (or so Sarutobi thought), he did see Naruto breathing, alive, with truly trusted ANBU using the best of their medical knowledge to help what was left of him… He noticed a terrible facial wound that would leave a set of terrible permanent scars, in a horrific Glasgow smile, along with many other unspeakable revulsions, especially when one medic had to pick up the boy's bloodied femur off of the ground and jam it back into the boy's body roughly into place before healing the muscle tissue around it quickly. Sarutobi also noted a set of horrific bloody whisker marks marring Naruto's face, no doubt an inclination towards the fox…

Naruto awakened weeks later in the hospital, although he wondered if he was ever truly awake. At this point in time, Naruto had the thought scarred into his brain and body as well that he wasn't normal, this much he understood. He knew other children weren't treated like this, and he knew that every other person wasn't treated like that, put through a pain that intense. 'I understand now… after so long, and with all this pain… they could have told me instead of shown me… I'm not meant to be happy like other kids like me… no wait, not like me… I'm supposed to be… happy too? But… Maybe it's my destiny like Jiji says, but not to live happy like he says, I gotta be… happy this way. I have to be like this, because it's my destiny. I have to live like this… I always have because it's my destiny, and I always will like Jiji says my destiny will be like… I have to be this…'

It was at this fatal point where Naruto stopped existing as a human child, and began existing instead as what he was meant to be: a weapon. In his mindset, he knows he cannot have friends because all children are scared of him and all adults banish him from their sight. He knows he cannot be happy because his "destiny" cannot allow it, he must be satisfied with being unhappy, which in his poor, fractured mind means he had to be this way, even if it hurt him so… Little did he know the pain would cease soon, emotionally and physically, and that he would be glad forevermore that his "human emotions" were destroyed, and that he would feel no more unhappiness… while simultaneously feeling no happiness. He knows now that he cannot live by human standards, but by his own standards. He decided to begin training, to better prepare himself for his no doubt horrific life to come.

Little did anyone know of the great beast within him, slowly changing the boy's mind and body, and slowly forcing its vile influence into him, slowly pushing the normal human instincts out and replacing them with demonic imitations…

The boy stood, dressing himself in blood stained clothes and ripping out his medical equipment. He took hold of his now tattered black shirt and ripped a lengthy piece out, wrapping it around his face to cover his permanent acquisition. He took hold of his possessions before quietly leaping out the window into the night, not a soul noticing a thing.

Years later, Naruto is playing in a park, well as much playing as he did anyway. He never learned what the point of it was, only that it was a way to exercise and stay active, and that it had some social value that did not matter to him. He was busy swinging by himself, watching other children across the park playing oblivious to his presence, although their parents occasionally shot a nasty glare in Naruto's direction. To Naruto however, he knew it was normal and meant all was well. The children have evaded his presence for as long as Naruto could recall. He had been training much more often now, becoming truly a habitual trainer, constantly pushing his body to the absolute limits to become more prepared for his future, and thus while he was malnourished, he was lean, and contained high amounts of strong, lean muscle.

Naruto now sported dark slim fitting cargo pants to carry supplies of various kinds with him, tucked into his black combat boots. He wore a tight long sleeve black shirt with a grey and red harness on over it to hold larger objects such as packs, weapons, or other paraphernalia, along with a pair of light weight black gloves that stretched to his elbows. Over this he donned a large, tattered, grey cloak with hood that covered his person entirely, better to hide his hand seals or the drawing of a weapon from sight. This gave him a ghostly, haunting, spectral appearance that could easily blend in with darkness or light, the entire neutral grey cloak covering his head to his toes. Lastly, the boy wore a ragged scarf wrapped around his neck and lower face, mostly to preserve his secrecy, since with his hood and scarf nobody could see his face, and also importantly to hide his scars. He was the epitome of ghostly existence, since no skin could be seen, and all that could be perceived was a ragged and grey void…

Eventually as fate would have it, the children playing with a ball sent it flying with one of their "special attacks" as they said, although Naruto did not understand. 'How is that an attack? That would never work on an enemy…' The ball landed near Naruto, which the children seemed dissatisfied with. One bravely went near the lonely child to get their ball, but as he neared Naruto who was still seated on the swing, his parents yelled from their place across the park, and came running over immediately with a few other parents to see what happened. As they neared and saw their boy looking at them with a questioning look on his face, and saw the ball near Naruto, they assumed what hateful villagers would assume about the "demon boy."

"You brat, how dare you steal from my boy?! You insolent child! Answer me!" The boy's father yelled at Naruto who remained seated. "I said ANSWER ME!" He grabbed Naruto by the front of his cloak and lifted him off the swing. Naruto continued to stare passively from his shadowy face at the fuming and quite furious adult before him. "You worthless child! If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from my son and his property! Begone, vile creature." He threw the boy with all of his might into the bushes nearby and stormed off with his son in tow. The other adults followed, knowing that their part was unneeded this time… 'How dare I? I didn't dare anything at all. But I didn't do anything wrong… maybe I'm always to blame? Maybe I was at fault…' Naruto thought without interest as he brushed himself off and walked towards the academy for the day.

He arrived in class before most of the students, and simply chose a seat far to the back of the room, a place where the teacher's forsaken live in exile from education. He opened up his lesson scrolls he "liberated" from the unwilling library and began reading. Soon, no time seeming to pass to Naruto, the class was filled and Iruka-sensei was already calling role, to at least make sure students learned their military skills for future servitude of their country. Iruka called all the names with haste, but noticed without even having to call that all the students were here on this most important day, even the chronically lazy Shikamaru, for today was a milestone in the advancement of these ninja-in-training. Today was the day of their second-to-last exam, and thus far the most important. It was mostly a physical test today, but Iruka decided that since a shinobi must balance their mind and body to include a short pop quiz that no students were prepared for.

"Students! Settle down now. You all know how important today is, and I know you all have trained your body and chakra to prepare and do your best as Mizuki and I have taught you all. However, as a special bonus to the important exam today…" Iruka trailed off, reaching behind his desk, and causing anticipation to rise throughout the room. "Today we also have a written part of the exam! How exciting!" A large groan echoed through the room from most of the students, anticipation clearly dissipated.

"Mizuki and I will pass them out now! You guys have only one hour to complete this special added portion to the test. Begin when we give you the paper." And thusly Iruka and Mizuki passed out the paper that would even cause a genius prodigy to pass out from lack of knowledge. This test was made especially just for the students to fail…

***One Week Earlier***

"Iruka, why do you persist in torturing our poor future shinobi? Surely you must jest, to give young students an impassable obstacle in this exam?" asked the Hokage in disbelief to a nearby obviously pleased Iruka.

"Well Hokage-sama, think about it; if the students are faced with an impassable goal, what better way to determine how they deal with failure? There is a one-hundred percent guarantee that not a single student will pass every single mission they ever get. Why not allow them to cope with failure now to prepare for the future? This will allow them to prepare for the real life of a shinobi, surely," argued Iruka, who was intent on provoking mass displeasure from his students.

The Hokage chuckled lightly. "Ha… Iruka, your teaching abilities and escapades never cease to amaze me. Please, do this added portion of the exam. This will certainly do as you say. What a fine idea, I wonder why we haven't encouraged this before?"

Iruka walked out even more pleased than when he entered, with an exceptionally large grin on his scarred face.

***Present***

"Pencils down, everyone! The exam is officially over." A sigh of discontent flowed through the ears of all in the room. 'Apparently,' Iruka thought to himself, 'my plan worked wonderfully. I see everyone seems unhappy with their failure… except Naruto? He looks like he normally does. But I suppose for him that's normal. Surely he is taking it hard as well, knowing how hard he trains.' "I will now pick up all your papers, and then you are all excused for 30 minutes for a lunch break. I hope all my brilliant pupils did well!" Iruka added with a sly smirk on his face. While he did this for their betterment, he himself thought it was amusing as well, especially seeing the blood-red rage flowing off of Sasuke's visage.

He passed down, or rather up the aisles of his classroom taking up tests as he advanced, a steady line of unhappy students flowed out the room behind him. He picked up and noted how many blank pages there were. He wasn't surprised that when he got to the snoozing Nara that he indeed performed well, but not perfect. Maybe he scored a sixty to seventy percent at most, especially since even Jounin failed this exam. Lastly he picked up Naruto's exam at the back of the classroom, but was surprised that all the answers were complete. 'Ha, Naruto probably just wanted to seem smart like Shikamaru. It's probably all false, no offense to Naruto…' Iruka thought slyly. He picked up Naruto's paper and promptly dropped the stack of papers on his desk, prepared to grade them all. However one small issue remained, in the form of a remaining, ghostly student before his desk.

"Naruto? Did you want something?" asked Iruka dumbly.

"This was a test of failure?" Naruto questioned blankly with an empty stare on his obscured face, his gaze a void.

"It is okay, Naruto, honestly, between you and me, this was meant to fail you guys. No need to look so glum. This was a test of failure, yes, but to see how you guys deal with failure. Try not to take it badly, okay?" Iruka said in a fatherly way to Naruto.

"But sensei… I didn't fail, I passed. I was simply going to ask why it was more challenging than usual… but I suppose I should instead ask what my punishment is for nullifying the purpose of this exam."

Iruka looked dumb-struck at Naruto, who inexplicably thought it would amuse him to make the teacher look stupid. He began shuffling through his stack of papers for Naruto's paper. "Naruto, you didn't pass, trust me. Not even Jounin passed, very few made over a fifty percent. It is utterly unthinkable that you, an academy student, could pass it perfectly. Not even Shikamaru…" Iruka trailed off when he looked at Naruto's exam in detail Iruka, in no other conceivable way to accurately describe it, was having considerable jaw-dropping action with a mixture of the most extreme disbelief possible along with suspicion. "But it is… it can't be… Naruto, you didn't… you did," Iruka admitted in defeat as he realized Naruto passed perfectly. "But how!? It's utterly impossible without studying these precise questions beforehand! You didn't or couldn't have possibly known about this, the students were not told. Naruto did you cheat? This simply cannot be!"

"But sensei, you saw me. I wasn't cheating."

"Naruto, go have your lunch, I must speak with the Hokage. I want to believe you, truly I do, however… this is utterly impossible."

Naruto silently left his awe-struck sensei in a cloud of disbelief as the single smartest ninja in Konoha left his room. Iruka quickly arrived at the Hokage's office with haste, intent on somehow logically explaining Naruto's inexplicable… he didn't even know what to call it. It wasn't a test, nor an exam, nor a paper, nor even representation of Naruto, especially since it was all correct; it was simply a testament of Naruto's will, a battle of pen versus paper that undoubtedly shows the true nature of that which the world has never seen in many years… not since the likes of Itachi Uchiha. Iruka burst into the Hokage's office while his students were eating.

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka exclaimed with a bow. "My apologies for interrupting your no doubt serious matters you attend to," as he noticed the orange flash of a book disappearing behind the Hokage's desk and his flushed face, "but I must show you something phenomenal…" Iruka dropped Naruto's exam onto the desk of the Hokage.

"And this is…?"

"This is the exam handed in by one Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ah. Then I suppose… yes. Naruto is very, unequivocally intelligent, and has a brilliance about him even the wisest of the Nara would be envious of. Keep this test secret; say what you must to Mizuki. Tell him, in fact, that Naruto was cheating. We can't let anyone know that Naruto is this smart, you understand Iruka. If anyone hears about this showcase of Naruto's mental power, then Kami forbid the repercussions involved. All the "Kyuubi-haters" will be marching the streets, exclaiming how he is possessed by ancient knowledge and must be executed. So for Naruto's sake, don't tell anyone."

"Yes sir, Hokage-sama." Iruka walked out worried for Naruto, but also slightly pleased that he helped teach possibly the smartest future shinobi to have served Konoha.

"I hope you, my pupils, have had a fantastic lunch, because I have exciting news for you all!" said one conspiring, scarred ninja known as Iruka. "My dear, students, as you all know, this test is quite important to your success as a future ninja of Konoha, and what a fascinating instrument to measure the progress of our future country. However, I am displeased to say that everyone in this room has failed."

Distress was rampant, and disbelief plagued the wide eyes of one Nara. "You can't be serious…. What a drag." One Uchiha was fuming, enough to at least have the capability to fry an egg on his face. Other students' outrages were equally spiteful and not well-mannered in the least. Naruto was the only calm one, not speaking, nor moving, or in any way reacting to this revelation.

"HOWEVER, my students, in this, you have succeeded. By learning how to cope with failure now, you will be prepared for the future, as not one person in this room will ever succeed at every mission. Ponder on this wisdom, and learn from it. Learn to accept your mistakes, and learn from them."

"Iruka-san, I will never fail. My family name IS power, and power never fails," says one black haired beast. "I've never failed anything, and I never will. I will succeed at any obstacles thrown my way, and I will show the world how strong the Uchiha blood is."

Iruka looked at Sasuke questioningly. "Sasuke, although your goals are noble, your heart set, it is virtually impossible to succeed at every mission. It is guaranteed some will go wrong at some point, be it misinformation or such. You must learn to handle this now, when there are no lives on the line as there could be in a true mission-gone-wrong."

"Very well, Iruka-san," Sasuke said, a conceited frown on his face, obviously displeased with his "success" today.

"Regardless, my pupils, this was just mental preparation. The true test today is beginning outside in the training area. Please, follow Mizuki, and let us begin to test your strengths and weaknesses!" Iruka exclaimed as one smiling Mizuki led the students outside, through the halls and out the building. Naruto followed behind the parade of children, walking with Iruka to the testing area. Along the way while children were speaking to each other and grumbling about their grades, Naruto felt no despair, no anger, no vindication that this was wrong, although for simplicities sake, he had to ask. "Sensei, why would you say everyone failed? Did I not do as well as I think?"

"Naruto…." Iruka started saying, before trying to find the right words to say. "Look, for practicality's sake, son, I had to put the class under the impression that everyone failed, in order to mentally prepare them all for their future… you, Naruto, are prepared I think, seeing as you didn't immediately cause an outburst when told everyone failed. You are prepared, but your information had to be forsaken to help the rest. Don't you see?" Iruka explained honestly, hoping Naruto would see the reasoning.

"I… understand sensei. Thank you." Naruto walked away to rejoin the group now accumulating in the training area. Iruka thought to himself 'I'm sorry, Naruto… it had to be done.'

"Well students," started Mizuki, standing in the center of the training area as the students watched, "now it is time for us to begin the practical part of the exam. First up is ranged weaponry, you must use ten common ranged weapons of your choosing and hit the targets. Your score will be based on accuracy regarding vital areas of an enemy. For bonus, you can increase the range of throwing from ten yards to twenty. Your call."

Students were called up, alphabetically by surname, and asked to throw weapons of their choosing at straw dummies with targets painted on them. Accuracy ranged from generally accurate 70% to a low of 20%, no real pattern was being followed. Kiba scored half percent and was quite furious, blaming the wind. Others like Sasuke were pleased with their results, Sasuke reaping a dashing 85%, a problem he called out to the wind, yet again. He stepped up, arrogant in manner, prepared to launch five kunai and five shuriken from the twenty yard line, a new feat for today. As he threw them, his eyes narrowed slightly as the wind really did slightly alter the trajectory of his weapons, causing said 85%. It is always the wind's fault, apparently, although Sasuke did score the highest regardless of distance bonus. Iruka had to explain to them, yet again, that wind will always exist, even in the midst of battle, and to succeed in battle one must fight with the wind, for if one lets the wind prevail, they would lose the fight. Naruto was up last, he grabbed the same weapon load out as Sasuke, five shuriken and five kunai, and walked to the twenty yard line casually.

"Ha, look at the fool trying to copy the Uchiha! He probably couldn't hit one target from that distance, let alone pass this test," Sasuke said casually causing many other students to laugh and giggle at Naruto's expense. "Taking bets now? 50 ryo, 100 ryo, how much will you bet?" asked one Kiba smugly, causing more uproar and comedy. "Students, silence yourselves. Allow him to concentrate," said one Mizuki, trying not to laugh. "Why sensei? He probably won't hit a single target!" Laughed one student before hearing a thud, causing all of the laughter to cease and suddenly look at the results. It is astonishing, to them at least, to see every weapon in every vital point, so that every target would very much be dead. Naruto turned and walked back towards Iruka, passing students and Mizuki whose mouths were dangling quite low.

"Well Naruto, well done. Well done, indeed," Iruka proudly stated to Naruto. "Mizuki, would you like to announce Naruto's score?"

"…One-hundred and five percent is his score."

"Very good, my boy! Alas, we must begin the next portion of the exam instead of celebrating. Mizuki?"

"Ah, yes Iruka, forgive me. I was… overwhelmed, to say the least. Anyway, students, now we will attempt the jutsu portion of the exam. You will have to do the main three jutsu: Transformation, Clone, and the Body Replacement technique. For bonus, you may do another jutsu of your choosing." He began calling students up, same order as before. Every student successfully completed the main three jutsu, and the only bonus jutsu performed were completed by clan members, using clan techniques, an easy bonus for them. None of the non-clan students could complete bonus jutsu, although one student tried to cast a fire jutsu and ended up severely burning several trees along with his hands, so he earned no extra credit. Sasuke arrogantly completed the Body Replacement technique, before casting a clone of himself and making it transform into Mizuki, clearly impressing the students and both instructors. "Very good Sasuke! Any bonus jutsu?" Mizuki asked eagerly. Sasuke began flashing through hand signs before shouting his particular clan special: "Great fireball!" A large sphere of intense, red head flew from his mouth and into the sky where he was aiming, clearly earning bonus and impressing everyone there. "Finally, Naruto Uzumaki. Please, impress us as you did before," Mizuki said haughtily. Naruto created a clone with no hand signs, before himself transforming into Mizuki, again with no hand signs. "Not as impressive as I thought Naruto, do the Body Replacement now, please." "It is done," said Naruto, the "clone," as the Mizuki-transformed "real" Naruto poofed into smoke. They realized he completed a Transformation and Replacement at the same time, causing everyone to think his clone was fake, and he transformed into Mizuki, but truly he switched with his clone and his clone turned into Mizuki. "Astonishing use of the techniques, Naruto! Very good! Although they won't net you bonus points. Have you prepared a bonus jutsu to perform?" asked Mizuki. Naruto turned towards the target area used for the previous test, and again using no hand signs, he held his hand with two fingers extended towards a target, before the target burst, straw flying haphazardly through the air in all directions, while small wisps of chakra evaporated from the point of impact. As silent as the jutsu was, Naruto stayed and walked back to his place among the students. "Naruto, what was that?!" Iruka asked, afraid. He had never seen such pure potential before… "It was a special jutsu, which is all you must know." The students were frightened by the pure destructive power, and Sasuke was fuming. 'How could a lowlife learn such a powerful technique, and he isn't even from a clan!'

"Well, children, it is time for the final portion of today's exam, the physical fight. When it comes down to the pure raw potential of a ninja, it is how well he deals with his enemies head-on, no distractions. You will each fight Mizuki, one-on-one, and must lay a single hit on him without him blocking. For bonus, five hits must occur," Iruka explained. The students went up and fought to the best extent they possessed. Mizuki allowed himself to be slower, to make it simpler for students to fight him. Most passed within a few minutes, although a few of the weaker ones gave up, like Shikamaru, or lost in the fight, being unable to strike him. When Sasuke started fighting Mizuki, everyone's gaze was focused. It seemed Mizuki was having troubles fighting the young avenger, as he was flipping, spinning, kicking, punching, and every other quick striking move available. Sasuke was over powering Mizuki, and when the time limit was done, Sasuke had landed four strikes, the most thus far. "And now, you Naruto. Show me what you got," said Mizuki, planning to fight more ferociously than with the others in order to make him do poorly. Naruto stepped into the ring, when Iruka shouted "Begin!" Mizuki immediately sped toward Naruto, attempting to take the young boy by surprise, only to find that when his fist was barely in contact with Naruto's face, Naruto sidestepped Mizuki and landed a series of five blows to his unprotected back, before the fifth and final strike forced Mizuki out of the ring, skidding on his stomach in the dirt. The entire battle took approximately three seconds. "Naruto!" Iruka exclaimed. "Y-you defeated Mizuki! Congratulations, you get full score and bonus!" Iruka said proudly as he went to help Mizuki up, who was covered in dirt and shame was portrayed on his face.

"It has been a very good testing day today! It seems you all passed, even though some could have done better," Iruka said to the now indoor class while eyeing a napping Nara. "At last, it is time to award the top three positions in today's test, and their due respect. Third place, a student who performed extremely well, Shino! Very good Shino, very good indeed. I had no doubts about you," congratulated Iruka towards the silent boy in the back wearing shades. The other students clapped politely, respecting their fellow who did better than them. Sasuke stayed silent, not praising his comrade's feats. "Next, second overall, Sasuke. You better watch out Sasuke, it seems one of your classmates may be stealing your thunder," Iruka said while smirking. Most of the students clapped for the fuming heir, while a few females in the room were calling out to Iruka to change his score to first place. After they settled down, Iruka continued, "Our last, but most certainly not least, student, who made perfect scores in all of his tests, Naruto! Good job, my boy!" There was no clapping, no praise, other than Iruka. Mizuki stared at Naruto with distaste as he still had dirt on his favorite Chunin vest. Sasuke furiously made eye contact with said student, his anger veritable. "Well, usually comrades commend each other for their successes, but… At any rate. You are all dismissed. We have a week of leisure before our final exam next week! Make sure to train, study, do what you must! Naruto, Sasuke, Shino, keep up the good work. The rest of you, I hope you learned something from them today. Farewell, until then!" Iruka said while starting to file papers among his cluttered desk, Mizuki left the room in a hurry, off to who-knows-where, and the students scrambled out of the classroom, cheerful to be free for the day… except for one quiet child.

"Naruto," Iruka called out, just as everyone but said student left. The boy looked at Iruka questioningly before asking "Yes, sensei? Do you require something of me?" Iruka felt slightly irked at the boy's constant nonchalant attitude, his passive state, and his neutral tones, willing the boy to show some signs of humanity. "You did well, Naruto! How about we go eat ramen, my treat, eh?" Naruto looked suspiciously at Iruka, remembering vividly what happens when a person he doesn't fully trust offers him food… Regardless of his instinctual feelings, Naruto obliged, knowing Iruka for a few years now. They walked to a small ramen stand where a nice old man and his daughter worked hard, and produced uniquely delicious ramen and other treats, before quickly ordering.

"You did well today, Naruto. I wonder though, why have you always held back? I have known for quite a while that you train excessively, and I know you've been holding back but… I've never seen anything like that, son," Iruka said as he slurped up what was left of his bowl of soup. "Sensei… I wanted to stay out of mind, out of sight. The best way to do that is to do below average at everything, to not stick out any more than I already do. But now that I'm about to officially become a ninja, it doesn't matter now, since any more wastes of space senseless enough to cross my path will be on the wrong side of the law from me," Naruto answered truthfully as Iruka choked on his second bowl. "Naruto, but why would you want that? There's no reason to hide, the world is equally cruel to everyone." Naruto stopped eating and turned slowly toward his teacher, the light from the bar vaguely showing a silhouette of his icy eyes, as he darkly chucked, a hollow gagging sound. "Sensei… that is far from the truth."

After their dinner and discussion, Iruka walked Naruto home, and he felt even more so that he wanted to help the boy. Naruto on the other hand felt some sort of brotherly connection to his teacher, even more emphasized after this night, since the man honestly wanted to help him, and he did not immediately judge Naruto because of his past.

A week later, the final exams for the passing of Konoha's future generation of Ninja was about to take place. Naruto, again, was in class, sitting upright, stiff, and silent when Iruka wished him luck, to which Naruto responded by nodding his thanks. Iruka then sat at his desk and watched him along with the other students slowly trickling in until the class officially started, at which point he proceeded to explain the day to the anxious students. "Well, my students, this will be the last time we meet as a class, hopefully. I hope you all prepared adequately because this is the last exam you will have to take before officially becoming ninja of Konoha! Mizuki, please pass out the tests!" Iruka exclaimed happily, surely since he would be done with this rambunctious group of children should they pass. Mizuki haughtily passed out the papers, pausing shortly at Naruto's desk, frowning with distaste due to the humiliation a week earlier. He smirked as he lay Naruto's paper down and strolled away, Naruto never missing a detail with his constant observation.

An hour later, with many disgruntled sighs, the class turned their papers in. "Now, on to the practical part of the exam, which will be the same as last week's, if you recall. This time, however, we will individually change the rules for each student to challenge them a bit more than usual, so that nobody will pass without effort," Iruka explained, to further agitate the young ones. Some like the Uchiha scoffed at this minor detail, others who were slightly less trained like the Haruno became anxious once more. Then there was Naruto, who simply made no visible reaction to this information, similar to Shino. Iruka glanced over his students' reactions quickly before smirking and continuing his directions. "First up is the ranged weapons examination. Your load out will be chosen by Mizuki and myself based on your last exam, as will the distance you must throw it. After going through nearly all of the students, whose scores varied quite much and was the cause of more discontent among the young warriors, he called up the Uchiha. "Sasuke, due to your astounding progress as a ninja, you are to throw from thirty yards, the maximum range, and you are to use all shuriken, due to their higher difficulty compared to kunai. Go!" Sasuke gathered up his strength with five shuriken in each hand at the thirty yard line before launching the deadly projectiles at the inanimate targets. Successful thuds indicated his higher than average accuracy, when Mizuki who was down range called out Sasuke's score of one hundred percent accuracy proudly, with many of the student body cheering and clapping. Sasuke seemed quite content at his score and thought to himself about all the time he spent in the last week struggling to train as much as he could with the most difficult of ranged weaponry, sure that not even Naruto could do the same. "Finally, certainly not least, Mr. Uzumaki. Please, gather the same load out as Sasuke, and head to the thirty yard line," Iruka said with a smile as he watched his most potential student prepare. Sasuke scoffed that Naruto was even in the same league as him, but accepted it and prepared to watch the boy fail terribly. Without even throwing his arms back to launch the weapons with enhanced power and speed, Naruto seemingly flicked the ten shuriken at the targets, and the projectiles flew faster than the eye could follow, obliterating the targets down range. "Naruto, you failed to disappoint me again! Good job," Iruka proudly stated. Mizuki scowled down range and reluctantly called out his perfect score. To say the least, the students were dumbfounded that this once poor student now out-classed the Uchiha heir, and said heir was very displeased.

"Next, the jutsu portion of the test, which will be administered in the same fashion as last week's exam. First up is…" Iruka trailed off into the long list of names as each student once again produced adequate results. Sasuke produced the same effect that Naruto did a week earlier, and did the latter of the three jutsu together, firmly astounding the instructors. Naruto was next, when he did something unexpected for his clone, transformation and replacement. When the dust settled, the students saw a Naruto standing with an Iruka, nobody was sure which was clone this time. However, when the second poof of smoke obscured their vision momentarily, they were surprised to see that the Mizuki and Iruka that were standing off to the side of the dirt training area was really a transformed Naruto and clone, while the "Naruto and clone" in the center of the arena poofed into Iruka and Mizuki. They realized that this boy just replaced himself with BOTH Iruka and Mizuki, made a clone, and transformed all four beings at the same time, all in one move. To say the least, even the instructors were awestruck. "That was… well, needless to say Naruto, you passed. With flying colors," Iruka said in a dumbfounded manner.

"Finally, we have the physical examination. This will take the form of a battle royal, in which all of you will compete against each other in supervised Taijutsu-only matches," Mizuki explained, still irked that a student beat him just last week. The students fought valiantly, each doing well in some areas, such as defense, but doing poorly in other areas. Both Naruto and Sasuke excelled in all, Naruto even managing to not be hit once in all of his matches, to which the Uchiha was furious. Shikamaru suspiciously observed Naruto, concerned that this student was particularly… troublesome. Kiba was unhappy that he lost to the Uchiha, as he wished to test his mettle against Naruto. Mizuki called the final match to begin between Sasuke and his relatively new rival, Naruto, the call of which ushered total silence across the training grounds, Uchiha and Uzumaki staring at each other, Naruto seeing angry black eyes, and Sasuke seeing only the shadowy features of Naruto's face under his grey hood and cloak. This would be troublesome, as the full-body cloak concealed the boy's movements well… Instantly, as if some secret alarm sounded only for the two combatants, they approached each other rapidly. Sasuke in his slight annoyance went with an aggressive move, instantly trying to lay a fist into the enemy's solar plexus. Naruto in mid-stride feinted to the side, only for the Uchiha to pass by him harmlessly, and before Sasuke could realize what happened, Naruto quickly tackled the boy hard enough to send him rolling… Sasuke was prepared for the next strike: a foot aimed for his chest. He caught Naruto's foot and tripped him, and he stood as Naruto fell, preparing to elbow him in the gut. As he flew to the downed Naruto, the other boy rolled over in the dust, and kicked out to nail Sasuke right in the stomach from an angle, which sent him flying clear out of the arena and into a tree. Poor, defenseless tree; it never saw it coming. With a real knockout instead of a technical one as had been the case for the other students, Iruka called the lunch hour, ushering the students off to their meals as he and Mizuki took Sasuke to the infirmary. Naruto scolded himself in the relative safety of his mind for being tripped by such an easy opponent.

After the break, and all the students including one now conscious Uchiha were collected in the class room, Iruka and Mizuki began calling names into the adjacent room to tell each student whether they passed or failed and give them or not give them a Konoha headband. Some students came out empty handed, teary, and unfortunate failures. Others came out boasting loudly, causing a disturbance for many others. And then there was the Uchiha, who came out smirking with a relatively new headband tied on to his head, silently boasting of his power and allegiance to Konoha. Then finally, Mizuki and Iruka called Naruto into the room. "Naruto… it seems there were some… complications. I don't know how to say it, really…" Iruka started, until Mizuki interrupted. "Naruto, unfortunately you failed. There's absolutely no way someone could not use chakra when throwing shuriken to cause that amount of damage, especially one of your level. We've concluded you must have used chakra, and therefore you have failed a major portion of the exam." Iruka wanted to cut in, but as the Hokage said, keeping Naruto's real power under wraps was entirely crucial, and not at all optional. "And not to mention, _boy_, your test scores were more than… unsatisfactory," Mizuki sneered as he threw the papers at the boy who caught them, only for his eyes to widen slightly as all of his answers were incorrect, but the paper itself included questions he had never seen before. 'Genjutsu, so I must be meant to fail this test like the one from last week…' Naruto thought. He said nothing to his instructors, but only stared. "Naruto… you'll have to try again next year," Iruka said solemnly, unhappy that his "little brother" failed. Naruto nodded and walked off, and left the class behind, only to go to the top of the academy and ponder his fate, a haphazard void of uncertainty at the very least. 'There must be more to this, Naruto didn't use chakra surely, and I KNOW he didn't get every answer completely wrong. His answers aren't even relevant to the material on the test…' Iruka pondered.

Mizuki found Naruto atop the building, sitting solemnly, probably contemplating and lamenting his failure. 'What an idiot, he doesn't deserve to be a ninja, but what better tool than a damn lucky brat to do my dirty work…?' Mizuki wiped his face of dastardly planning and malicious intents before donning a sympathetic look as he approached the grey form of the boy he so despised. "Naruto, it's unfortunate that you failed. I was really hoping you would do well today, but… Look, Naruto. I'm not supposed to reveal this to you yet but… there is another way to become a genin," Mizuki smiled a bit too brightly as he told Naruto, who sat and quietly listened. "Right, all you have to do is get past all of the elite guards in Hokage tower, to steal the Forbidden Scroll. With this scroll in hand, you must escape the same tower as surely some guards will come to "stop" you, and meet me deep in the woods outside the west gate, where you will find a small clearing and a shack. You will have until midnight to learn a single jutsu from the scroll. If you are successful, I will personally be there to give you your own Konoha forehead protector! How does that sound?" Mizuki explained to Naruto. The boy wasn't foolish, he wasn't optimistic, he was extremely cautious, but for the sake of his career, he knew he shouldn't believe a word of what Mizuki said, as it was probably some ruse to get him in trouble. But then again, unrestricted knowledge from the scroll and guaranteed entrance into the shinobi world? Even if this was probably a lie, Naruto couldn't pass up this opportunity. "I'll meet you tonight, then, sensei."

As Mizuki sped off with a slightly twisted but certainly triumphant smile on his face, Naruto waited until he was out of sight before heading towards Hokage tower, the sun still shining upon the town…

It was night, and the moon was shrouded by thick blankets of dark clouds, providing many stretched, dark, and intense shadows across the quiet village of Konoha. However, if one were to look closely, they would see dark, quick blurs of something jumping from rooftop to rooftop, staying hidden in the shadows when a bright ray of moonlight was revealed, before continuing as the moon was covered once more. The process would continue for many minutes, the blur slowly making its way towards the western wall from the Hokage tower, urgently. While the gate guards were on duty, neither noticed the oppressive blur scale the wall and leap into the nearby forest, unseen and unheard. The blur sped through the canopy, quickly hopping from branch to branch with adrenaline-pumping endeavor, before arriving at a small clearing with an abandoned shed. The mystery character stopped before one could see blue eyes and licks of blonde hair as Naruto pulled back his hood, carrying a rather large scroll on his person. He checked his surroundings once more before squatting on the ground and opening the large scroll, before he delved into the mysterious and powerful ancient Forbidden scroll, intent on learning the techniques contained therein…

Meanwhile, ninja within the village were quickly becoming more and more hectic, searching every nook and cranny for a sign of the now-missing Forbidden Scroll and the boy who took them. One of the guards surrounding Hokage tower saw a grey-cloaked child fleeing the scene before losing him, and called to arms other ninja of the village. It was at this point even chunin were alarmed and sent out to detain the boy. Mizuki couldn't have been more pleased with this new progress. He rushed towards Iruka's apartment before hurriedly knocking on the man's door. He opened it to see a still half-asleep Iruka who asked "Mizuki? What are doing here at this time of night?" before he noticed Mizuki's "dismayed" appearance. "Iruka, Naruto must have snapped after failing his genin exam! He's stolen the Forbidden Scroll and has eluded our searches thus far! We need to find him, now!" Iruka was wide-eyed with horror and sorrow, feeling less of a man and friend for failing his brother like figure. "Let me grab my gear Mizuki, and let us make haste."

Mere minutes before midnight, Naruto was still hidden in the nifty little clearing, the scroll unraveled before him. Although Naruto knew even he couldn't use some of these techniques in many years, he knew just how valuable and powerful they were… so Naruto had been copying the most interesting jutsu from the scroll into a smaller scroll he kept with him, a note pad of sorts. He had also learned a new clone technique to make his clones into solid illusions, powerful allies to help fight enemies in real time. It was at this point where Naruto neared the end of the scroll and closed it as he heard someone approach. Naruto noticed it was Iruka that had found him, instead of Mizuki. "Naruto! What have you done?! What were you thinking, lad?! You've stolen one of the most valuable treasures in our village and have desecrated it as well! The Hokage himself has ordered all active ninja to search for you and to detain you! What is wrong with you?!" Naruto felt slightly upset while he let this sink in, before quietly responding. "Mizuki-sensei claimed this was a test in order for me to advance to genin rank. It appears he hath made fools the ninja of this village, and concurrently with the search of loyal ninja, he must be searching for me and this scroll… We should bring this back to the Hokage in the confines of Konoha's walls."

"No, Naruto! Wait!" a certain silver-haired sensei yelled as he too entered the clearing. "You have passed, very well! All I need is the scroll so I can bring it back to Hokage-sama and you will have earned your forehead protector. Hand it over now, Naruto." Iruka was shocked, to say the very least. This despicable man wanted to steal this powerful relic and frame Naruto simultaneously. He was willing to believe that Mizuki was willing to escape the Land of Fire with it, as well. "Mizuki! How dare you frame Naruto! This boy has… has worked very hard to get where he is today, and you mock him and me as his proud sensei, with this foolish charade. Surrender before the Hokage or ANBU get here, and I will make sure you are kept safe from harm," Iruka pleaded with Mizuki. "HA! You have absolutely no idea how much of a BRAT Naruto is! Nor can you conceive your own foolishness, you threaten me?! HA! I will kill you and that demonic waste of space here, and escape with a powerful knowledge." Mizuki quickly reached behind his back and launched an completely massive shuriken at Naruto, who was frozen in place, deep in thought. 'Iruka is proud of me? But why…?' He stared at the oncoming metallic weapon, approaching his skull at fatal speeds… before he was pushed to the ground and Iruka covered him, taking the shuriken in the spine, the weapon lodged so deep within him that the tip of the weapon was protruding from his abdomen.

"Sensei… why would you protect me? Why would you sacrifice yourself for me? You are more important and powerful than I… Sensei you shouldn't have done this!" Naruto said in shock that his sensei was bleeding out above him, and for the very first time in a very long time, Naruto felt fear, anger, and anguish boiling inside of his chest. "Naruto… you are like a brother to me…" Iruka wheezed out as he coughed up blood and fell to the side of Naruto in the dirt, breathing heavily while still keeping eye contact with the boy. Mizuki jumped down off of the tree he was perched in and began pacing towards the downed duo. "You remind me of someone who has lost everything. Naruto, your life is just beginning, and you have much potential… you must survive past this day, and you must show the world who you are, and you mustn't let Mizuki escape this unscathed with the scroll… Naruto, no matter what anyone says, you are neither a monster nor a demon… you are a human being… And I am proud to have been your sensei, and your brother. I am proud to have known you my friend, Naruto Uzumaki…" Iruka gasped one last time before Mizuki appeared behind him and shredded Iruka's back wrenching the massive weapon out before swinging it around again to plunge it through Iruka's head. "And with that fool gone, you are next, Uzumaki. Hand it over, and I'll make your death painless."

Naruto felt empty, like he had for years, devoid of emotion, until a moment ago when he watched Iruka's face distort with pain before the slashing weapon was sliced through his head, covering the boy in his blood. Iruka trusted him with the scroll, and he wouldn't let his sensei-brother die in vain. "Alright Mizuki… I surrender. Kill me quickly, and take the scroll. Leave this place free of your treachery, fiend…" Mizuki looked at the downed boy, covered with Iruka's blood and laughed coldly. "I was joking you monstrous brat. I'm going to torture you, slowly, and make you wish for death, one that will not come until I am finished flaying you and ripping you limb from limb." He stalked towards Naruto, a murderous smile on his face. He grabbed a kunai from his belt and prepared to slice into the boy when he felt something was off. He looked behind him and beheld a second Naruto with a second scroll strapped to his back, although still covered with Iruka's blood, aiming for Mizuki with his two fingers extended before Mizuki realized what was about to happen, he leapt out of the way just barely from a fatal shot, instead his shoulder burst into bloody, boney, sinewy bits as his right arm was blown into the bushes. Mizuki screamed in horror more so than pain as he faced the boy before he knelt down and covered the bleeding and fractured hole where his shoulder used to be located. The Naruto on the ground disappeared into a smoke cloud, Mizuki realizing that it was a clone of some sort. Naruto coldly said aloud to him from across the clearing, "You will not leave this place intact Mizuki. You will pay for what you did to Iruka-sensei tenfold!" He raised both hands with both index fingers and middle fingers extended towards Mizuki who snarled at the threat before leaping away where the ground exploded from the force of whatever Naruto was doing, before he looked back at the boy who fired his second jutsu from the other hand that hit Mizuki in the knee, which was accordingly blown to bits as his shin and left foot fell to the ground, twitching, while Mizuki screamed louder. He was grounded, unable to neither stand nor fight as he could gain no inertia to put force in his attacks. Naruto neared the down Mizuki, anger quite evident on his face and vengeance in his thoughts when the boy realized he had nearly no chakra left. He would have to do this the old-fashioned way… He neared Mizuki, who was bleeding profusely, and grabbed the traitor by the throat while kneeling beside him in the dark dirt, the blood looking darker than usual in the pale moonlight. "Face your death now," was all the boy said before he jabbed his other hand deep into Mizuki's abdomen, just under the solar plexus, before reaching up and grabbing Mizuki's heart in his fist. He had injured no organs, so Mizuki was conscious and could feel the boy's hand enclose around his heart, before screaming in absolute terror "YOU MONSTER!" as Naruto clenched his fist and the organ was reduced to globs of bloodied tissue, before retracting his arm from the now obviously dead traitor…

The Hokage had been also looking for the boy along with his many other squads of Ninja, when an Inuzuka ANBU alerted the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, there is a massive amount of blood nearby, I'm nearly retching from the stench… about seventy yards in that direction," he said as he pointed toward some inconspicuous trees. The Hokage left with his personal detachment of ANBU towards the location detailed, before even they without enhanced senses of smell could practically taste blood in the air, its stench unquestionable. They spotted in the darkness a small clearing ahead, and when the Hokage broke through the surrounding veil of trees, his heart skipped a beat, or two. The ANBU with him immediately stopped in horror and the Inuzuka was already retching in a bush, unable to handle the intensity of the smell, his canine partner whining alongside him. What they found was an old shack, and from their point of view separated two different scenes of vast difference but similar eerie dread. To the left of the shack, was a mutilated Mizuki. One arm was totally missing, as was his leg from the missing knee down. There was an obvious gaping wound in his chest that exposed many of his organs and tissues to the world, and they could see massive amounts of blood still pouring from the wound, filling them with terror and dread, although in the darkness they couldn't make out the final expression on his face. To the right of the shack however, they spotted the boy Naruto, just barely in the darkness, kneeling over an unmoving body, a pool of blood surrounding the boy and his as-of-yet unknown corpse friend, and they could hear the slight sounds of tears falling, something the Hokage thought he'd never hear from Naruto again. It was at this point one of the ANBU cast a light jutsu so that they could elucidate the situation. The immediate detail they saw was that Mizuki's facial skin was flayed, leaving him looking like a human meat puppet, even so far as his eyelids being removed, along with his lips, and all of the cartilage from his nose. Those that weren't already shivering in fear were now shaking explicitly. What they weren't expecting, or were expecting but didn't want to see, was that the grey-cloaked Naruto was completely soaked in blood, panting from exertion of some sort, and crying. When they looked to see the final figure of the three, they gasped, seeing a dead Iruka with blood pooling from his back and his head nearly sliced in twain, causing more blood to pool onto the forest floor. Naruto looked up, tear stains combined with bloodstains to give a totally horrific visage, the ice blue eyes unfocused and displaying exhaustion. "Orders, sir?" an ANBU asked the Hokage, whose mouth was agape with indescribable shock.

"Collect the bodies, and clean up all of this… this blood. One of you will take the scroll back to its designated location. I'll… I'll deal with Naruto, myself."


	2. Substandard Existence

Disclaimer: I truly don't own this.

Chapter 2: Substandard Existence

Inside the Hokage tower, two figures were seen in the dimly lit office of the leader of Konoha. One was tall, wide, and sported a white cloak and hat. The other was small, black, covered with dried blood…

"Naruto, tell me what happened. I didn't know Mizuki would…" the Hokage trailed off, disgusted at the recent finding. "This wasn't supposed to transpire, my boy. Mizuki's harsh actions were unprecedented…" the Hokage spoke softly, not wanting anyone else to hear what was to be said between he and the blood covered boy in his office. "Jiji… you told me to go through with Mizuki's plan. And I did, and… it's my fault that Iruka died… I should've been prepared. I was caught off guard, Jiji… I didn't mean for Iruka to die…" wept the boy, fresh pink-tinted tears rolling off of his face and into his dark scarf, probably not the first time the garment had been soaked in blood.

The strongest ninja in the land, the great professor and Hokage of Konoha kneeled before a child and hugged him, feeling the boy tense greatly. "Naruto, please my boy, tell me what occurred. I need to know. It wasn't your fault; nobody could have anticipated this… butchery." Naruto calmed down, and backed away from the Hokage, before sitting on the nearby chair, knees hauled up to his chin. "When I came here earlier today after Mizuki spoke to me, you told me everything would be okay. You told me so… so I did Mizuki's bidding while you prepared your ninja to catch him red handed. I was waiting for Mizuki and learned a few techniques from the scroll before he arrived, shortly before… I-Iruka… And, he tried to trick me into giving him the scroll when Iruka intervened. He launched a dai-shuriken at me and I couldn't react in time… it was my fault that Iruka had to sacrifice himself for me… he took the hit, Jiji. Then Mizuki came and killed him, and when I saw the life leave Iruka's eyes, I… something came over me. I couldn't control myself and I wanted revenge. I did a perfect shadow clone off in the bushes out of sight and did the body replacement technique with it, without Mizuki noticing. He was about to attack my clone when I used my special technique to blast his arm and leg off… and then… I don't know why but… something told me, commanded me to eviscerate him, and rip off his face… I'm sorry Jiji, I'm so sorry…" The boy wept, and hid is face in his knees.

"Naruto, there's no need to apologize. Iruka did what he was meant to do, and that is to protect our village. And you, Naruto, you were a brother to him. Don't allow his sacrifice to be in vain, boy! Live, and his legacy shall live in you. Now Naruto… you mentioned something persuading you to do those violent acts? Do you remember anything specific? Did you feel different or see anything odd?" the Hokage asked with worry. The boy quieted down and just barely looked up towards the old man, who was startled to see blood red eyes with slit pupils. "I felt angry, I felt powerful, and I felt like I had the power to avenge Iruka-sensei… Jiji, I've felt anger before, but that wasn't… normal. I felt like a monster!"

"Naruto!" the old man exclaimed worriedly, before the eyes returned to normal hues of blue. "That power you felt is… it is a special power only you have. You cannot allow anyone else to know you have it, alright? Many people would… envy your power, and try to harm you to attain it. Do you understand? You must learn to control it, lest it control you. I will aid you in this endeavor however, at a later time. Naruto, I'm going to place you in the intensive care unit for this night. You are tired, and your special ability seems to take a toll on much of your chakra and physical energy. I will bring you there, focus on resting, okay?" Naruto nodded along as the Hokage spoke to him. The old man stepped up to the boy, put his intended comforting hand on the boy's shoulder that jerked back slightly before they disappeared from the office, only to reappear in a medical room prepared at the Hokage's request earlier. Naruto wrenched his shoulder from the Hokage's grip and went to lie down, slowly losing consciousness as he watched the Hokage's worried visage fade into darkness…

"Inoichi," called out the Hokage softly. A figure faded into view from a dark corner of the room, answering the Hokage's call. "I need you to keep a watch on Naruto and run diagnostics on his mental state. He seems much calmer than I would expect from someone his age. I'm worried for him, Inoichi. Truly… Keep me updated on his status," commanded the Hokage. "Yes sir, Hokage-sama. And, on a side-note, regarding my observations…" started the clan leader, "Obviously he is much more traumatized from not only his past, but this event as well. I think he is losing his humanity, losing his emotions, Hokage-sama. He is becoming a machine, slowly, but surely. I'd hate for him to scrutinize something such as feelings, abhorring them. And this is providing his "tenant" with room to manipulate and twist, which I'm sure is the cause of Mizuki's gruesome demise. This is a road that will lead to disaster if he doesn't stop this, unless he learns to control the beast. But that is probably a worse outcome, a machine made to kill, controlling the vastest and powerful chakra source known." The Hokage set down a new forehead protector by the boy's side before he looked at the man and whispered, "I know," before vanishing.

Hours later in the light of the pale morning sun, a certain shrouded child with a new Konoha headband exited the hospital and made for the Academy, since today was graduation day, the day where all those who passed the final were officially congratulated as ninja of Konoha by their instructors… unfortunately, none of the children were prepared for what was to happen today, as both of their instructors were very dead. The class was slowly filling like normal, except the excitement was palpable. Students were happy that this was the last day they were considered children, and excited that after this day they would start their rise to greatness and fame while protecting their home. Hardly anyone noticed the absence of the instructors, although the ones that did were worried. One of the instructors was always here to watch over them, be it Mizuki or Iruka. Nobody else seemed to care, taking it as part of their graduation celebration. 'So troublesome,' thought our favorite sardonic genius.

The Hokage, on his way to the academy to let the graduates know their teams and congratulate them, noticed a lonely Naruto walking about two blocks ahead of him, the crowded streets seem to part for his passage, alienating him. The old man, disregarding greetings and other salutations from his villagers, swept past them in a rush to keep Naruto in sight, but not to alert the boy to his presence. He followed the boy closely, watching his every move, following him all the way to the Academy undetected, or so he thought. Naruto on the other hand was quite suspicious and very well aware that a certain old man was following him, very paranoid about the old man's intentions. Naruto at this point was sure the Hokage didn't trust him, or didn't even like him, but only treated him differently because of Naruto's own "secret power." He knew that if he should let down his guard, the old man would take advantage of him, and Naruto couldn't let that happen, he couldn't allow anyone to abuse _his_ powers. He feigned ignorance all the way to the Academy, and traversed the halls to his own class room, where he turned and walked through the door, catching glimpse of the Hokage out the corner of his eye briefly before stepping into the room. The Hokage didn't notice due to the shrouded face of Naruto, and for one of the most powerful ninja around to not notice eye contact, that was certainly indicative of something powerful about the boy.

The Hokage watched with sadness in his eyes as the quiet, seemingly emotionless shell of a boy passed by everyone, as if the world and he were separate. He stopped at one end of a long hallway in order to watch Naruto from around the corner, only to barely hear what the other students would call out to him in order to make a realistic prediction and help Naruto become more humane. He saw the boy turn and barely caught sight of his eyes, although they were shrouded in shadow by his cloak, but he didn't notice those very eyes flash towards him before the young shinobi stepped through the door. The old man with guilt heavy in his heart quickly advanced to the door of the classroom, but stayed out of sight in order to listen in on the soon-to-be graduates and confirm what he feared to know, the boy's outcast pariah status. He watched stealthily through the door and listened closely with chakra enhanced hearing as conversations and various sounds quieted as Naruto passed into the room and set forth for his back of the room station. A brash, but unsurprisingly stupid Inuzuka boy barked out akin to the partner he was always with, "Hey, this is only for graduates you loser! You left here without taking your forehead protector, so we all know you failed! Ha!" The class, or those that were brave and/or stupid enough, became ablaze with laughter and taunting insults at the quiet boy's expense, although he seemed undeterred. He took his place and sat, quietly, not even acknowledging that the boy spoke, and the laughter quieted down into an intense silence, the oppressive nature and silence of Naruto bringing to an end all merriment and joy, not to mention they finally noticed a glint of metal beneath the boy's cloak, his forehead protector used as a belt. The Hokage decided this was enough, as he saw what he needed to observe. He chose this moment of awkward and oppressive silence to burst forth into the room, heads spinning from the back of the room towards the front, before students exclaimed "Hokage-sama!" realizing who it was.

"Greetings, young pupils of Konoha, I am here to personally commend your skills and valor and introduce our future generation of ninja to their future careers," the Hokage started to speak, when the same loud mouthed child from before spoke. "Hokage-sama, where is Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei? Yesterday they said they would be here to personally see us off!" Murmurs were heard, whispered around the class room. The Hokage sighed heavily before continuing with a solemn note in his voice, which Naruto caught easily and once more realized it was his fault, his brother and ex-sensei were killed. "It seems that Mizuki was a traitor to the village, and in the process of defecting from us, tried to steal the Forbidden Scroll." Gasps were heard, and Kiba asked the question on the mind of the majority, "What happened?"

"Mizuki killed Iruka in the process, and tried to escape the village with that powerful tome of knowledge, when Naruto dealt with the traitor himself. I commended Naruto for his skills in dealing with such a powerful threat, and gave him his own hitai-ate and promoted him early this morning."

Gloomy whispers were audibly heard around the room. Iruka was quite the beloved teacher, and some heads turned towards Naruto in the back, who sat motionless and unreadable. "Although his bravery is commendable and Iruka's death is mourned, we must continue with this graduation. Now, I will call out the teams, and the two ninja on your team will be your allies, your brothers and sisters, your family for quite the long time. It is best you get to know them explicitly so you may work together effectively for your ninja career, understood?" Rounds of affirmative mumbles were heard, although the impatient tension was also palpable. The Hokage trailed off into team lists, calling off names of graduates and telling them their team number and Jounin-sensei, respectively.

"I can't believe I was paired up with Sasuke-kun!" yelled an energetic, pink-haired girl with green eyes. "Sasuke-kun, isn't this wonderful?" she asked the other team mate with a large, slightly too happy grin. He sighed heavily and wondered why it was his problem to be teamed with a fan-girl and powerful, oppressive and threatening rival. When she didn't get a response, Sakura turned towards the other team mate, intent on trying to speak to him, of course that notion died quickly when she saw his threatening dark presence looming over the two, silently. She shivered and stayed quiet, content to simply watch her precious Sasuke-kun. At this time, all of the other teams had left, leaving only the three in the classroom since the Hokage had important issues to see to, such as the demise of their old sensei. They had been waiting for over two hours now. Sakura sighed, wondering how such a nice sensei like Mizuki could be so rotten, and became sullen at the thought of her favorite teacher's death. She ended up turning towards Naruto anyway, although she was unable to see his face and never had, nor had she even seen his eyes before, she could only see the darkness under his cloak. She summed up what little bravery she possessed and asked him in a quiet voice, "Naruto, did Iruka just die from Mizuki like Hokage-sama said? Are you sure he didn't kill Mizuki himself before dying and you're just taking the responsibility for it?" She didn't expect the boy to sharply turn his head towards her, which caused her to stumble backwards with fear. Then the dark boy spoke, for the first time the pink-haired girl and the Uchiha heir heard his raspy voice, "Don't you dare bring shame to Iruka's legacy, you petty, thoughtless imbecile." The two lesser team mates were now both looking at the boy who was standing and advancing towards the downed Sakura, his intimidating presence causing her to whimper in fear and crawl backwards. Sasuke, although he didn't like the girl, stood up as well to intercept the boy before he got to her, and prepared a defensive stance. "What are you doing Uchiha?" inquired the intimidating figure. The boy prepared to speak when their sensei burst through the door upon a scene that made him wonder, seeing two tensed figures over a floored female figure. "Our sensei is here." He vanished from the view of the Uchiha and appeared before his sensei. The Uchiha realized he and Sakura just mistook his harmless walking toward the door for something potentially violent, and felt quite stupid before he helped his pink haired team mate up and they made for the front of the classroom.

"Well, that certainly wasn't odd at all. Hello, my pupils, I am your new sensei—Kakashi! And it seems I have a less fortuitously designed team than I anticipated, quite unfortunate, really, but I will manage with what I am provided with. Come; let us meet upon the top of this building, immediately, post-haste, promptly!" He vanished, leaving an impassive Naruto and angered Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto also disappeared, leaving the two others to take the long way up…

The two plodders arrived minutes later, seeing their sensei and other team mate staring at each other, intensely, or so they thought being unable to see Naruto's face. Their sensei was of medium build and height, and most noticeably he bore his forehead protector over his left eye, making him a technical Cyclops, and he donned a face mask as well. They noticed Kakashi with an apparent smile on his face hidden beneath his mask staring at the silent boy, who Sasuke would bet all his family fortune on wasn't smiling. "Ah, you have arrived, at last. Very good, now we can really begin. I am your new sensei, Kakashi. I will be training you, taking you on teamwork-building missions, and supervising your advancement in general as a new ninja of Konoha. Firstly, I'd like you to introduce yourselves to each other and me, so we can all get a feel for you as a team, aye? You, pinky, go first." Sakura looked dumbfounded, before asking, "How should I do this?" Kakashi looked skeptical before deciding to give an example. He spoke in a mocking tone to them, "Hi, I'm Kakashi! I like certain things, and don't like certain other things, and my dream is to do something!" Sakura's eyebrow twitched along with Sasuke's this time before she began her introduction. "I'm Sakura Haruno, a member of the well-known Haruno clan, and I like a certain person," she interrupted her introduction with a few giggles before continuing. "I dislike mean people who act so condescending! And my dream is to bring honor to my family and be the wife of… Err…" she giggled much more this time. Kakashi looked slightly distraught before pointing to Sasuke to start. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, sole surviving member of the prestigious and powerful Uchiha clan. I enjoy training, learning my clan techniques, learning any valuable ninja skills in general, and being condescending." Kakashi noted that the boy purposely added the last one to deter Sakura from chasing him, but the starry eyes she was making at him told him it didn't work so well. "I dislike annoying people, weaklings, dead-weight. My dream is to avenge and rebuild my clan…" Sakura continued staring at Sasuke in a glorified daze while Kakashi thought to himself, 'Perhaps I should take care of his mental state as well. He seems a bit too obsessed with power and Itachi…' He noted Sasuke backing away from a slowly advancing Sakura before he broke the silence as he pointed to Naruto. Naruto didn't move and barely whispered out his introduction. "I am Naruto," before silencing once more. Kakashi looked at him awkwardly before realizing that was all he was going to say. 'Well then, Naruto, it seems I have my work cut out for me.'

"…Right, it seems you all 'know' each other a bit more now. However, there is one small detail you graduates weren't told quite yet…" Kakashi trailed off and laughed slightly making Sakura feel a tad uneasy. "The "graduation" you all did was a test to see who could take the actual graduation test, and before we become an official team, you have to pass the real test." Sasuke had a quivering eyebrow, his anger apparent, and Sakura just had an open jaw, stupefied. "Yes, you all have to show me you have what it takes to be a true ninja. And so tomorrow, at six a.m., meet me at training ground number seven. Oh, and try not to eat, because you'll probably puke it up. Ta-ta!" Kakashi vanished from view, an annoying smile beaming at his three potential pupils from behind his mask. The three departed, Sakura trailing Sasuke and pestering him like usual while Naruto departed to go home. He was still quite exhausted from the night before. Terrible nightmares plagued that poor soul that day he rested after immense turmoil, earning him minimal rest.

In the morn, while the sky was still a pale red, birds initiated their daily routine of chirping and hunting for food, and across the village people awakened at the first sight of the sun to begin their daily routines as well. This was not the case for three young individuals, however. A pink-haired girl sat, her fatigue evident in the bleary bags under her eyes sat under a tree near a clearing, trying her hardest to combat sleep. Nearby a slightly less tired looking black-haired boy sat, trying to look well aware and awake, but still letting the world know he was tired by the occasional drooping of his eyes. Out of sight of those two, in the trees above where they rested, a third figure awaited, silently and cloaked in grey and shadow, any passerby would be unable to tell if he were tired or not, or even if he was conscious or snoozing. The three sat, although one out of the knowledge of the other two, for many hours, until nearly eleven in the morning when their quite tardy sensei arrived, once again donning his mischievous smile hidden behind his mask. "Hello my pupils! Glad to see you all here so early!" Sasuke snorted indignantly while immediately sitting up and wiping his face while Sakura jumped up, a grouchy glint in her eye and yelled back at him, "You're late! You said six a.m. not eleven, you dope!"

"Ah, is that what I said? I must have lost track of time," he said with sarcastic humor in his tone. "You know, walking the path of life sometimes leaves one lost, you see. I was lucky to get here as soon as I did!" he argued to his students. The two visible ones looked at him angrily before Sakura started again. "Besides that, Naruto isn't here yet. He's later than you, sensei!" Kakashi smiled behind his mask, the outline of it visible.

"Look behind you."

Sakura and Sasuke jumped nearly four feet off of the ground before spinning around, and in Sakura's case falling over, in order to behold the speaker himself standing in the clearing, draped in his dreary garb as usual. "It seems that Naruto was here with you the whole time, hiding just out of sight… you'll never be a great ninja if your own allies can hide from you!" Kakashi said lightly chuckling simultaneously. "Let's just get on with it, Kakashi-san," grumbled an irate Sasuke.

"Right… well then, Uchiha-san," Kakashi started with mockery prevalent in his voice, "today I will be testing your abilities as potential ninja. The test is simple really, you three," he pointed to the three semi-graduates, "will have to try to steal these from me," he finished and held up two bells. "You have until noon, and since there are two, the test has a passing rate of sixty-six percent and a failure rate of thirty-three. Beyond that, the one of you that doesn't get a bell will be subjected to being tied to a post to watch the rest of us eat lunch." The students noticed a series of three wooden training posts nearby and their stomachs all rumbled with hunger and unease. "Without any questions, let us begin! Show me what you got!"

With that, the three genin disappeared, Kakashi's trained eyes following them easily; although once they entered the brush of the training area it was difficult for him to follow them. Only Naruto, he noted, was totally hidden. He had no idea where the boy was, nor could he sense him. Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orange book, choosing to read and make the graduates seem like child play to him. Sasuke was furious, watching his sensei read while they were in the process of showing their skills and how efficient they were. This irked the Uchiha, his ire profound. Sakura, meanwhile, was hiding somewhere more conspicuous than Sasuke's, watching her sensei with doubt in her mind, thinking he was an imbecile, thinking she had a chance. Naruto meanwhile decided to sit and watch, knowing his sensei wouldn't find him so easily. Sakura had enough waiting, since it had been nearly five minutes now hiding in the dirt watching the older ninja read, so she leaped out with a cry and threw a kunai at him which missed him by a mile, in ninja standards at least. She sneered and ran up to Kakashi, intent on proving her inherit skills as a ninja in melee combat, and as she threw one weakly constructed punch, Kakashi retaliated without even closing his book. He simply cast a weak Genjutsu with his free hand which cased Sakura to scream and pass out, Kakashi looking down on her form with apathy. "One down, two to go!" he called out mockingly to the remaining team mates, still unsure where Naruto was but knowing exactly where Sasuke was. Kakashi took the initiative and threw a shuriken into the bushes, forcing Sasuke out into the clearing to meet Kakashi head on with a fireball ready. Kakashi didn't even flinch and simply used a replacement technique with a nearby tree branch. He smirked and engaged the young boy as he was preparing a second fireball, which had to be cut short to block Kakashi's kunai attack. The two danced around in a deadly dance, sparks and ringing of metal clinging and shining in the clearing, before Kakashi used a simple shadow clone to replace himself with without Sasuke noticing, and hiding in the bushes while Sasuke used a fireball on the clone which disintegrated. In the boy's confusion, Kakashi used an earth jutsu to pull the boy into the ground up to his head, leaving him unable to continue. Sasuke groaned with distaste and demanded to be set free while Kakashi chuckled.

"Maybe in a moment, Sasuke, for you see, there's only a few minutes left in the test and nobody has even come close to touching the bells on my…" Kakashi patted his hip where the bells were, and then he felt nothing and finally noticed the bells were missing, and hurriedly looked around the clearing, and noticed Naruto sitting in the shade of a tree far along the clearing with both bells visible in his grasp. "Never mind," said Kakashi with a dumbstruck look.

Kakashi had gathered his students and led them to the three posts, where he stood in front of them to make his point via speech, while Naruto still clutched the bells tightly in his grip. "Well, my opinion is…" Kakashi started, "you all fail as a team. The purpose of this exercise was to demonstrate your ability to work together, not test your individual abilities, although I must commend you guys for bravado and talent. In any case…" Kakashi started again but then stopped as Naruto gave a bell to both of his team mates, leaving him empty-handed. "Oh? Are you sacrificing yourself for the good of the mission, eh, Naruto?" Kakashi looked surprised to say the least. "If we were supposed to pass as a team, then let us pass as a team. I couldn't have completed the mission without the assistance of my… comrade's distractions." Kakashi nodded and smiled. "I suppose, in this case… you pass. I'll see you guys here tomorrow morning for our first official training and missions! And by the way, congratulations as new official genin of Konoha," Kakashi smiled at them again and disappeared from sight, leaving two figures standing foolishly with bells in their hands like lost livestock while the final member of their team walked away, not saying a word more.

The next few weeks advanced quickly, the team working together, training together, getting mad at Kakashi together, and getting paid for D rank missions together, and Sasuke and Sakura actually heard Naruto speak more in this short amount of time than they ever had in their pre-genin lives. Truly, this team was effective but separated, each genin preferring to deal with matters their own way rather than working together for efficient management. Of course, Kakashi was always there to lend a "helping hand" and bring them back together when they strayed too far from the pack. Eventually, as fate would have it, the team grew rather weary of dull D rank missions and minimum payment, so upon the next encounter with the Hokage, Sasuke decided to stir things up a bit, much to the ire of everyone present.

"Hokage-san, I respectfully request that we, Team Seven, get a higher rank mission this time. We're tired of doing the dirty work that the lesser genin squads should be doing," said one dirtied Uchiha, covered with scratches from one mischievous cat that was the target of their latest mission. A starry-eyed Sakura and normally blank Naruto stood silently, Kakashi however looked a bit shocked and quickly stated, "What he meant, Hokage-_sama_, was that we simply wish to take a higher risk mission in order to better prepare Team Seven for the future, and to better analyze the team's working efforts, and…" Kakashi trailed off while the Hokage, irked as he was at Sasuke for regarding him as "san" rather than "sama", chuckled and quieted him down.

"Kakashi, this is fine. If the Uchiha wishes for a higher risk mission, so be it. I'm sure it will be such an enriching mission for all of your students," the Hokage said haughtily, before continuing. "We have a C rank mission to the Land of Waves for one Tazuna, who wishes to hire bodyguards against bandits and whatnot on his way back, and then protection while he constructs his bridge. Will you accept this mission for your team, Kakashi?"

To say the least, the genin sensei looked weary and unsure, but he answered regardless of the bad feeling in his gut, much to the Uchiha's pleasure. "Yes, Hokage-sama, we accept."

It had been a day. Team seven and their client had left in the morning after all awakening at a dreadfully early hour and waiting for Kakashi to show. To say the least, their client was a hindrance. He was constantly drunk or buzzed, always carried a bottle of sake in his grasp, and walked unreasonably leisurely, although due to his age or his state of intoxication, none could tell. He wasn't a man with a great first impression; team seven's first meeting with him ended with the genin feeling angered by his slurring tongue and Kakashi having to hold Sakura back from hitting the drunkard. In any case, they slowly but surely made their way toward the Land of Waves with relative haste.

As chance would have it, on this dry and quite hot day, they passed an awkwardly placed puddle in the road. Now to fresh genin, this meant nothing. It was just a puddle of questionable liquid. To the old drunkard Tazuna, he didn't even register anything was amiss. To Kakashi and Naruto, they both noticed something odd about a fresh puddle of water with not a cloud in sight on a hot day. Upon passing this uncertain puddle, out of it appeared two ninja, both wielding deadly chain weapons that connected the two, and they immediately wrapped it around Kakashi and pulled it, slicing the man in twain before any of the genin could react, and even before Tazuna could turn his drunken head about to behold a gruesome scourging of his most powerful hired bodyguard. Sakura screamed at seeing her sensei die from these wretched men who then chuckled at the genin before advancing. Sasuke was not deterred, although he was completely astonished that these men caught his surely powerful sensei off guard. He settled in a defensive position between Sakura and Tazuna and the two attacking ninja. Naruto, whose hands were covered by his cloak, pulled out a few kunai and shuriken without anyone noticing, and before the ninja could get to him and Sasuke, he surprised them all.

One of the ninja was within arm's reach of the boy, and the other was before Sasuke who had a kunai ready to block the man. Naruto on the other hand had not his arms raised, therefore seeming like an easy target to his attacker, which was a foolish move. Before the man could impale the boy with a small blade, Naruto's cloak whipped open with his arm extending towards the man quickly, a kunai in his grasp. Before the attacker could react, he fell dead with a kunai in his eye socket. The sudden dead weight on this end of the chain suddenly pulled back on the other ninja's chain before he could get to attack Sasuke, causing him to trip and land on his back, which gave Sasuke the initiative to pin the man down with a blade to his neck. At this point, Kakashi exited from the nearby brush, surprising all present. "Fantastic, my students are made of sterner stuff than most. You successfully repelled this ambush. Naruto, Sasuke, you did well. Sakura, next time at least try to protect the client if you don't wish to participate in combat, okay? Sasuke, leave him alive. We should interrogate him."

"I'll never tell you anything, scum! You can do nothing, _nothing_ to get me to spill the beans! NOTHING!" exclaimed the defeated man.

"Right," said a bored Kakashi. "Sasuke, let me see him for a moment. Stay here," Kakashi commanded as he dragged the ninja into the bushes nearby. Within moments, they heard cries of agony from the man before they abruptly stopped. Kakashi exited the brush with a serious look on his face and a rather questionable looking spoon in his hand. Tazuna at this point was white with fear, Sakura not far behind. Naruto simply cleaned his blade and searched the already dead man for extra supplies while Sasuke tried to be as nosey as possible trying to see into the trees where he last heard the man, curious what could be done with a spoon. "Tazuna-san, we need to speak…"

At this point, he revealed that due to extremely low money in his country, he had to lie about the mission to decrease the price. It seemed a shipping and industrial tyrant named Gato had caused Tazuna's country to be depleted of finance and resources needed for basic survival. In this shortcoming, he was building a bridge to enhance trade to the region, helping his friends and family survive by bypassing Gato's sea monopoly. He mentioned that the man really wanted him dead, so that the bridge that could free the people of Wave couldn't be completed, and thus keep Gato's wallet fat. With this new knowledge, team seven graciously accepted this newly revealed mission of a higher order than initially thought. Kakashi knew it was a bad idea with potentially dangerous ninja out to kill Tazuna, but his team chose to help the man, and so he chose to continue.

Hours later, Tazuna revealed that only a mile away was a secret boat waiting to take them to the true island country, a secret and small boat so that they could better evade Gato's mercenary militia which patrolled the waters. After a sickly trip to the island, mostly due to the Konoha ninja never experiencing deep water travel before, they landed on a foggy patch of land, Tazuna explaining his house and family were only a mile or two away. After only a few minutes of traversing this deep and thick fog, Naruto sensed something off in the bushes and without hesitation threw a kunai from beneath his cloak which flew into the bushes faster than Sasuke and Sakura could turn at the sudden noise and movement he made. "What was that for Naruto!" Sakura inquired as she searched the bushes only to find a quite frightened rabbit that nearly had its head impaled. "It was a small rabbit! Why would you attack this poor, defenseless creature?" she questioned. Kakashi decided to muse aloud his thoughts, "Sakura, that rabbit has white fur… it isn't native to this place at this time of year. There is something off…" She looked at the creature again before realizing he was right, a rabbit's coat should be brown at this point in the year. She wondered about it as she released the creature that ran away just as Kakashi yelled for his students, "GET DOWN!"

A large object flew through the mist above everyone's head, nearly impacting with Sakura and Tazuna who were almost too slow to dodge the mysterious object. A thud was heard as the now known massive sword cleaver impaled itself into a tree deeply, a man materialized on the handle to look down on them. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? A Cyclops, an old drunkard, and a bunch of kids, is what I see. Wait, dare I ask… are you Copycat Kakashi? Aha, this is indeed fortuitous; my chances of a good battle have indeed increased, so I wish to test my mettle against you, before killing that old man. En garde, Copycat!" The intimidating figure leapt down from his perch with his massive weapon in tow, landing behind all the gathered party before swinging his massive weapon in order to kill them all in one blow, but Kakashi intercepted his attack with two kunai and pushed the man off, who chucked and disappeared into the fog. Kakashi commanded his genin squad to stay and protect Tazuna as he also disappeared into the fog following the chuckling murderer. "So Kakashi, are you prepared to see your kids and client die? Have they even prepared to fight a _real_ battle? Have they ever experienced real fear I wonder?" Suddenly the air pressure increased, causing the genin and Tazuna to fall to their knees, or in Sakura's case fall flat on the muddy ground. They were filled with a sense of intense fear, not daring to move. Sasuke was shaking, Sakura was sobbing, and Tazuna was wide-eyed and one could practically hear his old heart beating. Naruto stood his ground however, although beneath his cloak and hood he, too, was frightened. Not as frightened mind you, as he had seen and experienced horrors the others had not, but nonetheless he felt fear. "It seems one of your genin is more or less immune to my killing intent. Heh, Kakashi, you have trained one well at least." The genin heard clashes of metal in the fog, testaments to Kakashi's ability to fight the man with low visibility. "Zabuza, Demon of the Mist, I see they name you such accurately. You are an A rank missing ninja from Kiri, known for silent killing techniques and that massive cleaver. Sorry to say, Zabuza-san, but today victory shall be mine." Suddenly the clinging of metal stopped and the fog began to disperse, allowing the genin with Tazuna to see the two ninja fighting on a lake, Kakashi having used a massive water attack of some sort with Zabuza nearly unconscious being washed into a tree along the shore at high speeds, the object barely holding him with the pressure exerted on it. Kakashi leapt towards the downed ninja before a senbon was launched into Zabuza's neck from the trees. Kakashi turned to find the source of the weapon when a young child dressed as a hunter ninja revealed himself or herself. "Thank you for incapacitating this fiend, for I have been tracking him for some time. Your strength truly is one to behold, for I never was able to defeat this vile monster mine self. I shall dispose of the body posthaste," the mystery hunter ninja explained shortly before taking off with the body. Kakashi, tired from his fight with the Demon of the Mist, barely made it to land before collapsing from exhaustion. The genin were stupefied, not taking a step, confused. Naruto broke everyone's stupor when he quickly made for Kakashi and shouldered the man. "Tazuna, bring us to your home. Sensei needs rest."

The squad of ninja spent the next week discussing the duo of ninja they encountered, Kakashi meanwhile was resting and he also had two of his genin doing menial training that Naruto already mastered. They came to the conclusion when Kakashi awakened that the hunter ninja was a fake, and he took Zabuza in order to heal him. He suggested that by the end of the week, the man would be active again, and probably out for blood. This made the children's hearts stop; they didn't want to face this powerhouse again, along with his mysterious accomplice. After that, Kakashi decided to train Sasuke and Sakura in tree climbing exercise, which allows for better chakra control along with the practical use of climbing vertical and upside down objects. He had Naruto meanwhile, scouting around, knowing that the boy was far more powerful than he let on. After he left the two genin one day, he told Naruto when they were alone, "Naruto, I know you hide some of your abilities, but this is important for our survival and the mission. I am trusting you immensely, and I have faith in your abilities." Naruto felt odd, never having anyone _trust_ him before. This was a new feeling, one that confused him. "I need you to stealthily scout the nearby woods within a one-mile radius of this house, every day, all day. I'll have shadow clones scouting as well during the night, so no need to worry. During this time, feel free to train or whatever, just keep it secret, aye? I'm trusting you Naruto. Good luck." Kakashi left the boy with a confused, but light-hearted feeling. Kakashi of course knew all about the boy from the Hokage and Inoichi, and he truly wanted the son of his sensei to live a normal life. He tried his hardest to help the boy, and this was the best he could do at this point while still being practical for the sake of mission success. He watched as Naruto nodded before leaping away into the brush, not to be seen again until dinner.

The next few days went along this way, the two normal genin doing basic training, while Kakashi rested nearly all day and night but did have shadow clones dispersed about the area to watch for intruders, while Naruto was training in different spots during the day, having to cycle around the house to keep watch for intruders as well. Training for Naruto, however, did not constitute a normal training schedule of most other people. He would summon at least one hundred shadow clones to all come at him at once. One's full power multiplied by one hundred against one with potentially painful or fatal consequences truly gets one motivated to fight harder, faster, and smarter. Over the next few days, many areas of the forest became riddled with knocked down trees, stabs, tears, ripped clothing, a bit of blood. Because as Naruto became faster and stronger from his previous training, so did his clones. This was incredibly reckless, but extremely beneficial. The boy Naruto had more fighting experience than all the other genin in Konoha put together, due to this method, and he wasn't stopping any time soon. Of course, with this training as aforementioned comes dangers, as what happened the third day after Naruto's third training session in the afternoon. He was slightly more careless than normal against his army, leading to him being wounded more than usual, on top of being exhausted from his constant training that day instead of taking better breaks. He passed out in the woods, nearly three-fourths of a mile away from the house.

Upon this scene came a young girl with a basket of flowers. She was simply picking various herbs and roots when she noticed that part of the woods nearby showed signs of a recent battle, and there near a clearing of broken trees she spied the young genin that was with the Copycat, unconscious and alone. She slowly advanced on the boy, remembering that he wasn't affected by Zabuza's killing intent and probably more than enough to stop her. She slowly advanced upon the boy and put down her basket of herbs before reaching into her robe to grasp a senbon when suddenly, without warning, Naruto's hand shot up and caught hers before she could properly draw her senbon. His grip was iron, she was unable to get free. "You are that hunter ninja that allowed Zabuza to escape," he stated bluntly. "And if you were trying to kill me, that tiny needle would do _nothing_, so don't bother trying." Surprisingly he let her go, causing her to stumble backwards only to land on her rear. "Were you awake the whole time, genin?" she asked him. "I woke up when you were dozens of meters away."

The ninja girl's eyes widened realizing that he was truly above her level if he wasn't threatened by senbon and could wake up from someone stealthily moving through the woods far off in the distance. She realized she had to get out of there, before realizing her basket was right next to the now upright sitting genin, while she was farther away. Judging his speed from before, she knew she couldn't get it without him interfering. "You need these healing herbs to heal Zabuza, correct?" asked Naruto, easily identifying common healing herbs in her basket. Naruto heard a slight voice, or something akin to a stray thought, something telling him to kill her now while there was still a chance, to be ruthless and practical. In fact, it was the same suggestive 'voice' that told him to flay Mizuki. "I should kill you now while you are no threat to us, and keep these from reaching Zabuza…" The girl's eyes widened even more in fright, knowing fully that this boy, this _genin_ surely had the ability to dispose of her easily. "Just like you tried to dispose of me just moments ago…" He stood, stepped over the basket and slowly advanced upon the poor whimpering girl who backed up into a tree, unable to flee…

Naruto's little voice of guidance had never lied to him. It always gave him sound, useful, and practical advice, and always alerted him when danger was near. Of course, it wasn't really a voice in his head or anything graspable; it was like a separate part of his mind that he could not access would place suggestive thoughts into his true mind, to alert him to something. Such as the girl who woke him up, it wasn't his doing, but the suggestion was planted into his mind that an enemy was approaching, causing him to awaken. Naruto had no reason to distrust the only "entity" that ever helped him on a regular basis, even if it was just a part of his own mind helping him out… or so he thought. Little did he or anyone else know that within him a great demon was slowly but surely corrupting him, turning his emotions into malicious shadows of true emotions, leaving the demon room to manipulate, subversively, without anyone knowing the truth.

However, even the demon could not control all of Naruto's personality and emotions, at least at this point in time. Sometimes a small bit of humanity would escape him, showing the world that he, Naruto Uzumaki, was still a human. And in this case, he did not heed the suggestion, once again showing that Naruto was human. He still advanced upon the frightened girl, her mind flashing before her eyes, not knowing what would happen next…

Many days later, Naruto not having said a word, they all rested soundly, Kakashi revealing that any day now Zabuza would be attacking again, and they had to rest for as long as possible. A few days ago, Naruto hadn't come home that night, but instead returned late in the morning, worrying Kakashi, so Kakashi ordered him to never be that late again, to which Naruto complied. Again, Naruto had trained until really late that eve, Kakashi giving Naruto permission to rest as needed the next day, but upon awakening he was told to make for the bridge. From this point on, training was over for all the genin, and they had to stick together to guard the bridge against Zabuza and what they assumed was his accomplice. The next morning, all the ninja except for Naruto had vacated the premises in order to guard the bridge and Tazuna. Later on in the morning, Naruto was still sleeping soundly when the suggestion reached his mind that he should wake up immediately and stealthily make his way to the first floor of Tazuna's home. He did awaken, and heard Tazuna's daughter Tsunami and grandson Inari yelling at what he noted to be intruders, probably sent by Gato to capture them… meaning that Zabuza was probably making his move as well. He grabbed his cloak and equipment before launching himself to the first floor as fast as possible, and by the time he landed at the bottom of the stairs, and the two enemies turned towards him, he had already sent twin kunai pinpointed for their skulls. They fell dead before knowing who was behind them. "You two, stay here. They were the last enemies nearby." Naruto finished and disappeared, trying to get to the bridge as fast as possible before it was too late.

On the bridge that was nearing the end of its construction thanks to Tazuna, all the civilians were unconscious, or dead, large splatters of blood indicative of a large slashing weapon were seen. Others had senbon littering their bodies, probably just unconscious. By the time most of team seven had arrived this morning with Tazuna, this is the scene they stumbled upon with fright, and caution. Not even a minute later, a thick fog rolled in over the landscape, masking the man who taunted them nearly a week ago. "Hello kids, guess who's back… Kakashi, I think we had a little _unfinished_ business, yes?" The man hidden in the fog laughed darkly. The clashing of kunai and sword resounded across the battlefield shortly after Kakashi disappeared too. "Sakura, Sasuke, take Tazuna back to his house, now! And watch out for his accomplice!" The genin along with Tazuna quickly ran to the edge of the bridge to take him home when the false hunter ninja made himself known to the trio, telling them to surrender Tazuna or be annihilated. Sakura stayed by Tazuna with a single kunai drawn to 'protect' him, while Sasuke charged the hunter ninja.

Naruto arrived shortly after coming from the house, only to see Sakura protecting Tazuna and yelling for Sasuke worriedly, while Sasuke was trapped in some sort of ice jutsu from the hunter ninja, and Kakashi and Zabuza couldn't be seen, both hidden within Zabuza's fog jutsu. Naruto decided to assist Sasuke first, having the most chances at finishing off Haku quickly. He stealthily arrived near the ice dome, watching Sasuke slowly accumulate senbon in his limbs. Then, Haku ceased 'his' attack, Naruto realizing that 'he' was in the mirror he was closest to. When Haku was telling the downed genin that he was about to die, Naruto intervened and smashed the ice mirror that Haku was really in, causing a chain reaction of the other mirrors dissipating. "Sorry to say, but I can't let you further harm my team mate." "Sorry to say Naruto, but I don't really need to. It seems he has a low physical tolerance…" Haku pointed to Sasuke, seemingly dead now. Sakura, who was a mere dozen meters away, couldn't take this fake hunter ninja harming her Sasuke-kun. She wouldn't stand for his death to be in vain, so she launched a kunai with an explosive note, not caring about Naruto's close proximity. Surprisingly, her aim was true. Naruto's suggestion went wild, and he yelled for Haku to get down as he situated himself between Haku and the incoming explosive note. Sakura looked absolutely furious at this hunter ninja, not even caring that her team mate was nearby. She saw two figures on the ground when the smoke cleared, next to Sasuke. Without thinking, she left her client who was in danger in order to see if Sasuke was alright and to finish off that blasted hunter ninja. She arrived and instantly noticed Sasuke was groaning in pain, showing he was indeed alive. Sakura was beyond happy at this point in time, only just turning to see her cloaked team mate on the ground and panting, trying to get up, not expecting his absolutely idiotic team mate to try anything with him in the way, although he shouldn't be surprised. Only upon getting to his knees did both he and Sakura both look at the hunter ninja, whose mask had been broken in the explosion, revealing that the hunter was a female, about the same age as the genin. To Sakura, she did not care, she approached Haku with a kunai, stating "you're going to die for what you did to Sasuke-kun!" She flew in a rage towards Haku, who was too disoriented to block or dodge, and before she had a kunai jabbed in her eye, Naruto blocked Sakura's own weapon with his own. "Sakura, she may have valuable information. If you can capture an enemy ninja, it is always preferable to killing them, if you remember what Iruka-sensei has taught us…"

Sakura calmed down and left Haku and Naruto in order to help her Sasuke-kun, who was just barely conscious enough to register mentally, 'That was a girl!' before passing out with a pained expression on his face.

Meanwhile, while that was going on, Kakashi managed to trick Zabuza into getting some of Kakashi's blood on the sword, allowing one hit or two to connect. Only then did Kakashi pause and exclaim that he would be victorious. Zabuza was skeptical when he heard a poof, and unsure of what it was he prepared his next attack when out of the fog many summon dogs attacked, holding him down in place as they were extremely heavy and strong. With his concentration ruined, the fog dispersed, allowing the entire battlefield clarity. Zabuza was held in place while Kakashi exclaimed "Today, Zabuza, Demon of the Mist shall die!" as he performed several quick hand signs before lightning coated his hand, and he ran toward Zabuza with his arm extended, the deadly lightning fist probably more than enough to kill a man.

Naruto who was still nursing his wounds from Sakura's explosive tag only then noticed that Haku had started heading for Zabuza at top speeds, knowing what she was about to do. Naruto also got up, although unsuccessfully tried to chase Haku due to his recent wounds. He yelled for her to stop but her mind was in a frenzy to not allow Zabuza to die. She intercepted the attack, Kakashi had not enough time to direct his attack around Haku who just appeared before Zabuza… and she took the lightning jab in her chest.

"Heh, what a useful _tool_ you are, Haku. I never doubted your skills to keep me alive. It seems you've done your duty to the letter," Zabuza revealed to the onlookers before he tossed Haku's body away, Kakashi and Naruto looking on with disgust at his treatment of his own loyal ninja. Kakashi instead at such close proximity prepared to stab Zabuza to death when he drew a kunai. Zabuza however at the last minute had been performing a one handed jutsu which washed the dogs and Kakashi away while he escaped to another part of the bridge near the now unguarded Tazuna. Kakashi cursed at Sakura's abandonment of her client when he rushed toward Tazuna. Sakura had been mostly oblivious to all as she was still helping the unconscious boy. Naruto on the other hand rushed towards the downed Haku, who was bleeding profusely.

He quickly skidded to a halt and knelt by her only to grimace beneath his scarf at her grievous wounds, and he knew she wouldn't make it. "Haku… why did you do this? Why would you protect that bastard who treats you like so? What hath fate obscured from thine sight, only to realize that nearest the end of thine life your time was spent with this uncouth beast? You could have lived on Haku… Why would you do this?" Naruto was hurt. Almost as if he witnessed Iruka die again because he wasn't fast enough to stop her from going to Zabuza. "Naruto… he is the only man that gave my life purpose since my family died. He cared for me…" she coughed up blood and continued weakly. "He kept me clothed, fed, and trained me to be useful to him… I owe him my life." She coughed again before her sight started fading. She could barely make out Naruto now and could hardly register the still clinging sounds of metal off in the distance of her master fighting Naruto's sensei. "Haku…" Naruto started as he grabbed her hand, before she coughed again and told him "Naruto, this is my fate. Please, accept it just as I have… I just wish I could see your face… one more time…" Her eyes closed and she smiled contently, as if she were at peace with the world around her, even with the death, hurt, and violence. A bit of blood dribbled from her mouth that Naruto wiped with his gloved hand. Haku was at the very end of her time, content to die protecting her master and seeing Naruto one more time… then she felt something she didn't expect, a drop of liquid spilling from Naruto who was kneeled over her, falling onto her face. "Naruto…" she whispered faintly as the life left her body, and her grip left his as her hand fell to the stone bridge beneath them. Naruto felt the same feeling he felt when Iruka died. He felt anger, fury of the highest extent; everything was turning red and hazy.

Kakashi and Zabuza stopped fighting momentarily to turn towards the genin who were down the bridge a way before noticing Naruto hunched over Haku's corpse, a red miasma of chakra escaping him, before hearing him scream in agony. Sakura who was closer to the boy squeaked in fright and grabbed the now de-needled Uchiha and ran for Tazuna, not even looking back to the source of this powerful and oppressive chakra and inhuman scream. "Kakashi, what the hell is your student! What is that vile chakra!" yelled a now frightened Zabuza, looking at a worried Kakashi, who did not respond, instead watching Naruto closely with his Sharingan to observe what happened, and if they should vacate the area…

Naruto stood; his tattered cloak whipping about himself due to the force of the chakra exiting his body, his hood was now off of his head, revealing most of his head to the onlookers, although the scarf still covered his mouth and lower face. His hair was a white-grey, similar to Kakashi's own, and his eyes were blood red. Sakura and Tazuna could not withstand the pressure of this deadly and evil chakra and simply passed out along with the Uchiha, while Zabuza and Kakashi were shaking in fear, due to the killing intent released. Naruto, who was at least two dozen meters away turned slowly towards Zabuza, and locked eyes with the man who grasped his sword tighter at seeing the boys slit pupil eyes staring at him with vengeance clear in his intentions, when Naruto screamed for Haku but it did not register to the boy. To Naruto, all he could register was the man that was the cause of Haku's death, and the fear he could practically taste rolling off of him. With nary a second to spare, the boy _disappeared_ from view of the two elite ninja only to appear before Zabuza with his hand protruding from Zabuza's back, grasping his heart that beat once more due to the speed of being wrenched out of the man before stopping, the man himself not able to respond before realizing he was dead. The chakra around Naruto burned Zabuza, his skin slowly flaking and peeling off and turning black, and when the boy wrenched his hand back out even the wound he made was already cauterized by the intense vile heat of his red chakra. Only then did they hear a man from the other side of the bridge who appeared with a militia of mercenaries exclaim, "Ha, that Demon of the Mist was killed by a glowing red kid and some old grey haired guy! I guess I won't have to pay him now! Mercenaries, take out these ninja and rid our land of these pests!" And before Kakashi could turn towards Naruto, he was gone, leaving the freshly cooked cadaver to fall to the ground, sword leaving his grip. Kakashi quickly looked to the other side of the bridge where Naruto stood in front of the militia, those in which could now tremble in fear at the oppressive chakra the boy released. None of them could move, they were stationary, scared that if they moved this beast would kill them. Unfortunately for them, that was the case anyway…

Not even a minute later, there lay more than one hundred eviscerated, mutilated, and burned bodied and gallons of blood splashed along the bridge, and two figures left standing. A blood drenched and red glowing Naruto and a cowering Gato, leader of the shipping industry that caused all of this in the first place. "Boy, I can pay you! I can give you anything you want! I will leave this land! Please let me live!" he begged with cowardice evident. He saw Naruto turn away from him and walk back towards his team, when he sighed in relief, only to grimace in pain when the boy appeared behind him with his hand piercing the inside of the older man. He screamed bloody murder as the evil chakra burned his very flesh, inside and out. Naruto didn't even give him the pleasure of quick death, he stood there with his hand inside the man's abdomen letting the chakra poisoning and burning kill him from the inside out. Only afterwards, villagers who had heard the commotion arrived on the scene, to gasp in shock and awe that this one boy killed all the militia and the evil tyrant. After releasing the corpse of the old man, the boy passed out, his eyes turning back into icy blue tones…

After a day of cleaning and finishing the building of the bridge, the entire town celebrated the ninja present at the ceremony, even Tazuna and his family was praised. Naruto on the other hand was unconscious from the use of this mysterious red chakra during the battle, not used to feeling so much evil power before having it dissipate shortly after. The village chose to not even acknowledge his deeds, even though it was he who saved them all, due to his more than violent means. Nobody mentioned him, nobody mentioned the bloody aftermath, and nobody wondered about the missing member of their team who was resting at Tazuna's home. A day earlier, Kakashi was worried about the boy, wondering what could have brought on this transformation, knowing that Naruto only turned in times of great emotional stress, such as when Iruka died, or so he was told by the Hokage. After the battle, he brought his genin to Tazuna's home, and carried Naruto himself. He went to a private guest room with just himself and Naruto to lock the door, knowing the boy wouldn't want anyone else to see what would happen. Kakashi undressed the boy's bloodied clothes, but kept him decent mind you, to wash them. He even took off the boy's scarf to wash it, having not left Naruto's face for a very, very long time. Kakashi gasped when he saw the boy's face, hearing about but never seeing the scars that plagued him, the deep, raw scars of the Kyuubi whiskers left by some villagers years ago still looked fresh, and the Glasgow smile etched past his lips also looked fresh, and in fact Kakashi saw blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. Only then did Kakashi realize that speaking probably left the boy in pain, as it would aggravate the scars and cause bleeding. He wondered how this young man could handle this incredible but terrible stress… Kakashi allowed nobody in the room after that for the boy's sake. He cleaned the clothes and left them near Naruto for when he awakened.

Afterward, Kakashi went to check on his other genin to make sure they were okay, letting Sakura know that Sasuke would be fine, having only his non-lethal pressure points attacked. He went back to the bridge to help the villagers clean up, only when he arrived most of the gore was gone, but the bodies of Zabuza and Haku were left where they died. After disposing of Zabuza and burying him and planting his sword on his grave as a marker, he went to check Haku's body before burying it as well… And he noticed that she had blood wiped off of her face, he knew Naruto did it. He also noticed a conspicuous drop of blood on her cheek, the angle of which letting Kakashi know that Naruto bled. Naruto bled for her in sorrow, allowing himself to speak through the pain, even to the point where his mouth bled through his scarf and a drop fell on her face. Kakashi felt ultimate sorrow for the young ninja before going to bury the body of this person he knew nothing about. He would have to ask the boy about it when the time was appropriate, knowing that talking about Iruka was a sore subject for him as well. In any case, the celebration of the finishing of the bridge was under way, and he chose to think about these darker matters later, his mind leaving Naruto and instead went to mingle with the local women. Everyone was happy, everyone was glad that their oppression would be over now.

Nobody considered how Naruto felt, as he was alone in Tazuna's home, twisting in turning in restless sleep, having a dream about the first time he and Haku met…

_Naruto closed the distance between himself and the girl, before holding out his hand to help her off the ground. _

"_Why are you helping me? I thought you were going to kill me?" the false hunter ninja asked Naruto. He responded quickly, "Because, I can tell you are a good person, like my old sensei. You would not harm me, for your heart was not in it, even if you were prepared to kill me."  
><em>

_The ninja girl blushed, and nodded. "May I ask your name?" She asked the cloaked boy. "I am Naruto."_

"_Nice to meet you Naruto, I am Haku. I am glad to finally meet you."_

_The two newly met ninja talked the whole afternoon, although Haku could not tell that Naruto was bleeding, he bled for her. His facial scars bled every time he spoke, only speaking when necessary, she did not know that he would endure it for her. It was late at night when they finally finished telling each other about themselves, practically spilling their hearts contents to the other, and at some point during the conversation Naruto had lowered his hood to show Haku his white hair and ice blue eyes. Only then did Haku feel truly sorry for the boy, but simultaneously felt closer to him, she understood some of his pain. She understood that he was alone in this world, and that she was one of the very few, in fact the only one his age, that he was close to… it was at that moment that she asked him a question. "Naruto, feel free to say no, but… may I see your face, just this once?" He looked down upon her questioningly, one eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—" she started, but Naruto interrupted with a finger pressed against her lips making her blush again. He raised his hands to his scarf to reveal his face to one of the few people he trusted, although he knew not why, since he only knew her for a while. He couldn't explain it, but he felt obliged. He allowed her to see his visage, the only person he ever voluntarily showed his face to. _

_She noticed blood stains around his mouth and realized that all this time talking with him has had his old scars bleeding! "Naruto, why did you not tell me that you were in pain? I'm so sorry for making you speak for so long…" She started to cry lightly, knowing it was her fault her new friend had hurt himself, just to speak with her. "It is not your fault; I chose to speak to you. I do not know why, I simply feel compelled to answer you…" He spoke honestly. "Naruto…" she started before she leaned in towards him and gave him a chaste kiss. His eyes widened in surprise, never expecting to feel so intimate with another human. Slowly, he felt more content than he had in a very long time, he closed his eyes in a brief moment of bliss and kissed her back. _

_Needless to say, afterwards their kissing became more intimate and fervent, until they ended up being ultimately intimate. That night, Naruto and Haku became one, both of them happy, especially Naruto, who had never thought something so wonderful would ever happen to him. He was happy as he lay with her afterward, both of them being tired, before he covered them with his cloak as they fell asleep on the forest floor, both of them content and feeling a connection neither had experienced before. As they fell asleep, a whisper of love was heard between the two. It was bliss._

_The next morn, Naruto awakened, alone. He looked around, not finding a single reminder of the night before. He felt betrayed, but only momentarily as he noticed something clinging to his cloak. A beautiful blue rose with a note attached. _

"_Dear Naruto, I am sorry to have left you so early, but my master Zabuza requires these medical herbs soon, and I do not wish for him to become too suspicious of my actions. I cannot wait for the next time we meet Naruto. I will relish the chance to be with you again, and make love with you. I love you. –Haku"_

_Naruto smiled for the first time in a long time, a very long time. _

_He cleaned himself of the musty scent of the intimacy of the night before clothing himself in his typical cloak and whatnot before heading back to Tazuna's house. _

Only then did Naruto awaken, tears falling from his eyes openly.

He dressed himself in his clothes, noting that in his satchel he always kept on him holding various supplies there still was the note from Haku. He would cherish it.

Once dressed, he noticed that the house was empty. He found a note from Kakashi in his room that explained that the celebration was commencing, and if he should awaken he should come. Naruto looked at the letter a few seconds more before burning it with chakra and going to the mound where the dead were buried after the recent battle.

Tazuna, his family and team seven returned later, to find Naruto was gone. They wondered where he would have gone, not knowing why he wouldn't have gone to the celebration. Kakashi told his kids to stay put, and he left the house, knowing where Naruto would be. He arrived at the newly dug burial mound, and noticed Naruto wasn't there, but atop Haku's grave there was a blue rose, although Kakashi knew not where it came from. He returned to the house and saw Naruto there, disheveled and exhausted looking, although he had done no physical exercise recently. The other occupants of the house were very quiet, remembering what the boy did the other day. The next morning, the village had gathered to wish the ninja a fond farewell, thanking them and giving gifts to show their appreciation for freeing their country. The ninja left, thanking everyone and saying goodbye to everyone before leaving. Tazuna pulled Naruto aside at the last moment and told him in a low voice, "Naruto, my village, my people sincerely thank you for freeing us. I want you to know we will be eternally thankful for your actions. If ever you find yourself here again, you will be welcomed." Tazuna smiled at him. Naruto nodded in acceptance before saying it was no problem, before catching up to his team who was already halfway across the bridge.

Later that night, the ninja chose to stop and make camp about five-eighths of the way to Konoha. That night, just for precaution, Kakashi decided that they would have one guard out at a time, while the others rested. Naruto was awakened lastly, only a few hours before dawn, to sit alone by their campfire while the others slept. Unknown to him in his sleepy state, he left his weapons and whatnot near his mat, not needing it since they were so close to Konoha he doubted they would be attacked. In the morn, Sakura and Sasuke awakened in the same tent, Kakashi having slept in the other tent. They noticed Naruto's bag of equipment nearby, and paid it no mind until Sakura happened to mention a piece of paper sticking out of it. Sasuke couldn't help but check, as he knew nothing else of his team mate. "Sakura, get that, let's see what it is." She looked at the bag and without even considering the ramifications she took out the paper and unfolded it for her and Sasuke to read…

Only minutes later, Kakashi awakened to the sound of Sasuke and Sakura shouting in pain. Kakashi immediately grabbed a kunai and jumped out of the tent to come face to face with Naruto. "Naruto! What are you doing?" He asked, just noticing Sakura and Sasuke's wounded and grounded forms. "They seem to enjoy going through private possessions." He answered honestly, with obvious malice in his voice. "Sensei," wheezed out Sasuke, "Naruto was fraternizing with the enemy!" he finished and gasped, the recent punch making it hard for him to breath. He pointed towards a paper Naruto had in his grip that was torn slightly and now crinkled. He gasped when he saw Naruto's red eyes again, although they were slowly turning blue again. "…Naruto? Is this true? What is that paper?" Kakashi asked him, hand open for the universal sign of 'give it'. Naruto was loyal, he knew he had to listen to his sensei, as per the code of ninja oath. He reluctantly allowed Kakashi to read it. Kakashi's eyes widened at the revelation before he carefully folded it back up and gave it to Naruto, not saying a word, in understanding silence. He knew what kind of emotional trauma the boy went through, even if it involved feelings for the enemy. "Pack up, all of you. We're leaving in ten minutes," stated Kakashi, his voice firm and slightly angered. Sasuke and Sakura thought he was mad at Naruto for hiding this secret. How wrong they were.

Hours later, they arrived at Konoha, glad to see their home once more as Sakura exclaimed aloud what the rest of them were feeling: "It's good to be home!"

They arrived at the Hokage's office, when the Hokage was surprised to finally see them. "Kakashi! And team seven, it is good to finally see you. The mission took much longer than anticipated, I see. Kakashi, go ahead and report your first C-rank mission with team seven."

Kakashi explained truthfully how they encountered the twin ninja that ambushed team seven from their puddle Genjutsu, to how they first encountered Zabuza and the false hunter ninja, Haku. He explained how they trained for the next week until the final battle took place at the bridge. He noted to the Hokage that "some of the details should be reserved for later", although he did explain what everyone saw, such as Sakura endangering Naruto's life with the explosive tag, to which the Hokage nodded. Needless to say, the Hokage was proud that this genin squad completed an A-rank mission, but enraged that they could be so careless about ally ninja. Only after Kakashi had finished, however, did Sakura blurt out, "Sensei, aren't you going to tell him about Naruto's little _escapade_?" before Kakashi sighed heavily and Sasuke smirked at Naruto who visibly tensed. "Kakashi, what are they talking about?" asked a skeptical looking Hokage, almost sure Naruto did nothing that wasn't somehow beneficial to the mission, he knew the boy was practical that way. "Well, erm…" Kakashi started, rubbing the back of his head, "It seems that Naruto… erm… _fraternized _with the false hunter ninja girl before the final battle." The Hokage just sat nodding his head, then stopped. He shook his head, picked at his ear a little, made an incredulous face and looked back at Kakashi suddenly before asking with an odd tone to his voice, " Er… Did I just hear you correctly?" His eyes were wide when Kakashi nodded. Sasuke and Sakura smirked at the expense of Naruto, who was still very tense, practically making the whole room feel a bit more uncomfortable than necessary. "How did you find this out, Kakashi?" asked the Hokage seriously, before Sakura exclaimed loudly, "Sasuke and I found a note in Naruto's satchel from that weak ninja! We took it and showed Kakashi sensei! Then Naruto _attacked_ us viciously!"

The Hokage wasn't pleased. "Sakura, Sasuke, you two should be ashamed… You never invade a fellow ninja's privacy like that. Never. And Sakura, you never put a team mate in danger like that. Get out of my office now," said the Hokage threateningly, scaring the poor genin out of there immediately. Afterward, he got up and locked the door before casting a protective sound jutsu over the office. He walked to Naruto and knelt down before the boy before asking, "Naruto, may I see this note please? If it is too private, then feel free to deny." Naruto shook his head and looked down, getting the note from his satchel and allowing the Hokage to read it. "Naruto…" he said before giving the note back to him, the boy took it carefully. "Kakashi, you told me you would tell me the details about what happened on the bridge. Sasuke and Sakura were unconscious you say, so they didn't see. What happened?" inquired the Hokage. Kakashi sighed and explained to him, "Hokage-sama, due to Sakura endangering Naruto with that explosive tag, he was temporarily unable to move at his normal speed, Haku got away from him with enough speed to intercept my Chidori which was aimed for Zabuza. I killed her, accidentally before continuing to battle Zabuza. The monster mentioned how his _tool_ was useful for keeping him alive. Naruto spoke to Haku one last time, although I know not what they said since I was busy with the battle, before Naruto's chakra visibly exploded, giving him enhanced power. He massacred Zabuza and the militia of mercenaries and killed Gato himself, " Kakashi revealed. The Hokage was astonished. "Naruto, what did you tell her before she… passed on?" asked the Hokage. "I told her that she shouldn't have done that for that monster. Then… everything went red. I felt like that night Mizuki killed Iruka, except worse. I was angry… so angry… I'm sorry Jiji, I should've controlled myself," Naruto apologized. "Naruto, it is okay, my boy. It's okay… I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure she was important to you. Naruto, you should go home and rest, my boy." Naruto nodded before leaving, his head lowered in internal agony. "Kakashi, what do you think of Naruto's mental state and actions on the mission?" asked the Hokage seriously after the boy left. Kakashi pondered for a moment before answering.

"Well… he was late one day when he was training alone. I thought he just trained too hard and passed out. Now that I know the truth I… I know that hunter ninja was our enemy but I truly, honestly feel bad for him. Sensei's son should not be so alone in life, and have his only love taken from him. It's too much for such a young boy to go through this trauma. And he isn't… he hasn't shown any emotion about it. He gets tense when it is brought up but no emotion otherwise, although he did show anger when he took the note back from Sasuke and Sakura. I think he's extremely confused by this. He doesn't want to show his emotions, but at the same time holding it in is only making it worse. Not to mention he doesn't know how to properly deal with a close one who has died, as we've seen with Iruka. He's becoming emotionally unstable, Hokage-sama. On a side note, regarding the Kyuubi's chakra," started Kakashi, causing the Hokage's visage to darken considerably, "It seems to be… I don't know, corrupting him in some way. It's as if the beast is working its way through the boy's mind. Every time he becomes emotionally unstable, or loses control, the chakra of the beast leaps out, and typically ends in a very violent bloodbath. Sasuke and Sakura are lucky he didn't do more than punch them, so he seems to have some control over his actions in that state. He needs help, Hokage-sama. Sensei's son shouldn't be anything like this…"

The Hokage pondered on what Kakashi had said for a few minutes, silently thinking to himself. "Kakashi, do you think your students are ready for the Chunin exams?" Kakashi looked at the Hokage incredulously, "Excuse me? You want me to put a potentially bloodthirsty demon-influenced boy in that test when he's already emotionally unstable? They could easily pass, but… There's no way. No way…" The Hokage looked at him tiredly before responding to him, "Kakashi, please listen. This is the best thing we can do right now, just leave Naruto in an environment where he can work how he wants, as violent as he wants, and not be penalized while he works out his emotional issues. Not to mention Sasuke's involvement in the exams would help our village's standing, you know. In any case, let them choose. Give them the papers tomorrow when you guys meet, and let them choose to take it or not. Dismissed, Kakashi." Kakashi nodded briskly before leaving the office with three papers, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts, at the base of which was Naruto. The Hokage sighed and put his head between his hands, "Naruto, what can I do? Minato, what should I do?"

The day after, Sakura and Sasuke were sitting beneath the trees at training ground seven, waiting for Kakashi to show and knowing Naruto was around them, somewhere, although they could not spot him. Sakura asked Sasuke out of boredom waiting for Kakashi, "Naruto sure is perverted. He did it with an enemy ninja. He's so stupid; she was probably just playing him." Sasuke grunted, although he had to admit that on some level he was jealous that Naruto got to er… do the dirty, although he didn't understand along with Sakura that he felt a real connection. Naruto overheard this and his face contorted in anger and rage, his eyes slowly turning red, before he calmed himself down, knowing he shouldn't hurt his team mates, no matter how much they angered him or dishonored the name of his dead love. He noticed Kakashi arrive when he called for Naruto to join them, although they couldn't see him. He stood on the branch he was standing on before making his way to the rest of team seven. "Good, now that you guys are all here, I have a special question for you guys. Do you want to join the Chunin exams starting this week?" asked Kakashi before holding up three papers and giving one to each of his students. "You must fill this out then ALL three of you must report to the Academy on the date supplied at the room indicated. If one of you doesn't show up, the others cannot participate, as squads must compete as an entire team of three. Anyway, this week you all have free, do some training, deep thinking, and decide whether or not to show up at the exams in a few days. Dismissed," Kakashi said as Sakura and Sasuke went off with Sakura badgering him into the distance. However Naruto stayed, knowing Kakashi had something to say to him. "Naruto, I want you to rest this week. I know you went through… traumatic experiences recently, and I want you to know I'm here for you as your sensei, and so is Hokage-sama. If you ever need to talk about anything, please come to one of us. We only want to help you."

Naruto nodded before walking away silently. Kakashi sighed and went to the closest bar to grab a drink or fifty.

And thus, the following few days Naruto spent training, contemplating his failures in life, becoming more and more self-condescending after his failure with not only Iruka but Haku. He could barely look himself in the mirror anymore. In any case, the night before the exams took place, Naruto decided to stay home after training nonstop for the last few days. He forced himself to deal with his reflection, and contemplated his life thus far.

'And thus, my life as it has been to this point in time. Anger, hatred, loss, sorrow. Emotions are a parameter that will only hold me back… And so, as seconds pass into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, days into weeks and into months and years, I finally realized without any trace of doubt that I was a jest. A living comedy perhaps made solely for the purpose of entertainment of a higher power? Or is it that I was created as a scapegoat for the fears, inadequacies, and unhappiness of the inhabitants of my homeland? Regardless of "truth" as of now and the true purpose of me living to this day, I have survived. In no small part this is due to my resiliency, however I have not escaped unscarred, for deep, permanent, and unforgiving serrated scars constantly tear and grind at my mind and torment what's left of my sanity. I can no longer feel anything but negativity, in all of its forms from sadness to anger to hatred to paranoia. I feel these now as naturally as one feels "normal" emotions, leaving me what people call 'abnormal,' which in my mind is an improvement, for without careless positive emotions running amok, without happiness to delude myself, without friendship to lessen the true load of MY humanity, without concern of other people to cloud and confuse my natural judgment, I feel more than human. Given, it is hard for me to even consider feeling what is considered 'normal,' as I haven't felt those... dreaded emotions for many years. At many times I feel nearly 'normal' and therefore grieve my disposition with the people I am forced to be around and live with, I feel worthless, empty and meaningless; I lament living a single day of this 'hell' and I despise every single person who has ever wronged me and even more the people who I see blindly living happily, when I have done nothing to them on a personal level. Most of the time however, I feel as if I am 'god,' that I am more than any human, that without emotion, without lament nor happiness, I am an empty shell, eager to absorb knowledge and power and free to make decisions not based in morality and "righteousness," the path to true power in this retrospect is not obscured, but free to my manipulation and my advantage. However, I digress, I am sure you may wonder, 'Who is this speaking?' or something akin to 'Why bother with the introduction?' and the answer is: 'My mind on a constant basis regularly rewinds time to relive the most important aspects of my past, and the best way to reflect on my life is with none other than my true reflection,'" thought a young child, no more than thirteen, as he stared at his blank, empty void of eyes in the cracked and dirty looking glass in front of him. He turned away, tired of his self-ranting, his hatred, and his emotions that ran rampant. He went to sleep, only to suffer once more as a night of nightmarish haunts plagued his mind reminiscent of his failures with his loved ones, only to awaken minimally rested the next morning, the day the Chunin exams were to start.

A/N: Yes, all of chapter one and two was a flashback while the real Naruto was reflecting on his past and staring at his reflection in his mirror the night before Chunin exams. What of it? For each review I get, the faster I'll update… It's not hard to click the review button or whatever and leave a short response, gosh. I just want to know I have fans with opinions. Like, seriously, for every review I get, the faster I'll update. It's my lifeblood.


	3. From the Edge of Madness, I Come

Disclaimer: I truly don't own this.

Chapter 3: From the Edge of Madness, I Come

This was the bright morning where many hopefuls from around the Elemental Nations gathered in Konoha, where the international Chunin exams were taking place this year. Ninja and civilians from across the nations gathered here at this time, and of course with the increased flow of people the security was amped up a tad bit more than usual. It was this crowded, early morning that Naruto arrived at the front of the Academy, where the first test of the Chunin exams were going to take place, of course he couldn't go in without his team mates to show up. So, this obscure cloaked boy sat in the tree, the shade keeping him cool from the rays of the early morning sun, awaiting his team mates to arrive. Naruto actually awakened much earlier than normal to apply a relatively new shinobi weapon to his arsenal, one that enemies would not see coming from beneath his cloak, metallic armored gauntlets with razor sharp claws on each finger, made of a special durable metal that did not glint or reflect light easily. He was a bit early, since the exam didn't start until ten a.m., so he could wait a while before his team was due to enter, unless they decided not to, in which case this was a waste of time. But Naruto himself understood that Sasuke couldn't allow himself to not participate, essentially forcing the last team mate Sakura to join as well. So this was simply a time for waiting for Naruto, who was tired due to his less than satisfactory sleep for the last week… Although to him, it has seemed like an eternity of tormenting dreams ever since Haku died.

At any rate, in less than an hour, after Naruto had been quietly unnoticed in the tree in front of the Academy observing as genin squad after genin squad entered, he finally noticed his two team mates coming down the road, Sakura looking worried at the thought of fighting other ninja her age after the last fiasco with Haku, and Sasuke looking a bit too confident for it to be healthy, as surely it would lead to his downfall. None the less, Naruto leapt down from his perch into the shade of the tree, his team mates and others around jumping back a bit at seeing this tall shrouded figure appear with a dull thud from nowhere. He waited for his team to catch up to him before he led them into the building, his silent strides alerting few to his oppressive presence. They were a bit late, as the exam only had minutes until starting. Upon entering the class room, Naruto immediately went to a corner nearest to his team, to lean against the wall away from everyone, but also prepared to intervene should anything happen. Sakura and Sasuke however couldn't help but gloat to their fellow Konoha genin that recently graduated with them about their amazing new abilities and fanciful training sessions that Naruto couldn't recall ever happening, imagining that as a glorified version of tree walking and other basic exercises that Kakashi-sensei had Sakura and Sasuke complete during the week in the land of Waves. He watched as the "Rookie Nine" as it was popularly dubbed, socialized for the first time in over a month, having done missions and training since their professional careers began.

Ino of the Yamanaka clan happened to find Sasuke and wrapped her arms around him in a bit too friendly embrace, causing Sakura to go red with embarrassment as she tore Ino off and the two started bickering over the boy that slowly began inching away from the two. Kiba Inuzuka was catching up with Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara, the three were longtime friends. Shino was keeping Hinata Hyuuga company while she spoke with them as well. "So Sakura, I heard from my father that your team went on an A-rank mission, is that true?" Ino asked her friendly rival Sakura, after they had stopped their bickering. The pink haired girl smirked when she answered the other genin who were listening, "Yes, as a matter of fact we did. We even fought and killed Zabuza, Demon of the Mist, and freed the land of Waves from the control of the extorting tyrant Gato. We're heroes there!" Ino was shocked to say the least, and Shikamaru spoke up, "You mean one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? Do you mean _you_ killed him or was it your sensei?" He was skeptical for good reason. "Sasuke was the one who took him out," Sakura exclaimed, causing the others to gawk in awe at the confused Uchiha heir. "He even took out Zabuza's apprentice," she continued, catching Naruto's head turning towards her from behind everyone else. "Yes, she was a weak little girl; Sasuke easily defeated her, left a hole in her chest the size of his fist." The other genin gasped in awe that Sasuke was so strong, of course Shikamaru was a bit skeptical as always, but he accepted it nonetheless. "Speaking of Zabuza's apprentice," Sakura continued with a wicked grin on her face, "it turns out our friend Naruto is fond of promiscuous sex with enemy ninja." At this, Kiba immediately barked out laughing, while Shikamaru had a face of incredulity, Hinata's face was the shade of a tomato, and Ino stared at the cloaked boy before slowly shuffling her way behind her team away from him. The laughing stopped when Naruto left the wall he was leaning against and took a step towards Sakura who stopped smirking and also took a step back. "Sakura…" he rasped, the room quiet once more, his empty, dark, and threatening voice echoing slightly before he continued. "Silence thyself, lest thy tongue thou shalt forfeit to mine own hand." The girl blanched, noticing his eerily glowing red eyes beneath his hood and eyeing his dangerously close clawed metal gauntlet revealed from beneath his cloak before nodding graciously as the boy returned to his corner, the darkness under his hood no longer glowing red. The other genin began their conversation again, albeit a bit less light hearted than before. Ino asked Sakura while Hinata was also listening in, "Sakura is that true? Did that _monster_ really do it with an enemy ninja girl? What did your sensei say?" This and the other conversations about their newly exposed "friend" that they graduated with continued, Naruto was struggling to keep himself from shaking in anger, wanting to tear Sakura apart and show them all a real monster. He did not understand why she angered him so often, so purposefully as if it was her life's effort to impose upon his psyche various deteriorating emotional states of negativity.

During the ruckus they were causing, the other, much quieter teams in the room carefully observed this "fresh meat", since all of the other squads looked more than professional compared to these bickering, laughing children that Konoha considered the "best of the best." With haste, another Konoha genin approached the rookies, a young man a bit older than them, who sported thin wire glasses and silver hair in a ponytail, who suggested to them sound advice: "You know, for rookies, you guys sure are lively. Perhaps you should calm yourselves; you seem to be oblivious to the other genin around you, after all." He smirked as the rather raucous genin looked along the room to see threatening and despotic visages staring back at them, before the weight of the situation settled upon them like an overbearing blanket of doubt. "Who are you?" Sasuke asked, first of the rookies to say anything since the arrival of the silver haired boy. "Oh, I'm glad you asked. I'm a Konoha ninja like you guys, Kabuto is the name. I've actually taken this test seven times, heh," the boy answered while chuckling to himself. "Wow, you must really be terrible at this," Sasuke added, causing a few of the raucous bunch to agree and chuckle at the Uchiha's little joke. Kabuto smiled and adjusted his glasses slightly, "Well you see, Uchiha-_san_, I've actually been gathering information over time about these exams and the students taking them ever since I first started. I have stats on _everyone_ and I daresay my time here was not spent in vain," smugly explained Kabuto to his rookie audience.

He displayed a stack of cards from his supplies pack, and showed them how all were blank until he drew one and everything about Sasuke appeared on that card. The Uchiha was dumbfounded, surprised that Kabuto really did have all of his stats accurate for all to scrutinize with cold apathy. "Whatever. Do you have cards for Naruto? What of Neji Hyuuga or Rock Lee?" asked Sasuke with glee in his voice, since he could learn his opponents' weaknesses. Kabuto chuckled again before drawing three cards to display to the rookie nine. "Rock Lee, it seems he's a prodigy in the arts of Taijutsu, but his other skills are practically non-existent. He has extremely fast reflexes and speed, and his strength is a force to be reckoned with, like his teacher Might Guy. His team mates are Neji Hyuuga and Tenten, both of whom are excellent Taijutsu users. Neji Hyuuga, prodigy of the Hyuuga clan, known for his extremely talented Byakugan techniques. He is known to be an extremely powerful melee fighter. He and Rock Lee have both been genin for over a year now. Last is Naruto Uzumaki, and it seems his skills are... unknown. This is odd. I have everyone's techniques and stats… But… All it has on his card is that he is a very skilled ninja that completed multiple A-rank missions; one was with his team where he defeated Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist! Incredible… And it says he's been trained by the Hokage." The rookies gasped at this revelation and all turned to scrutinize Naruto while Sasuke glowed with fury, he learned nothing of his rival that he didn't already know, except that he was trained by the Hokage personally, not to mention the others now knew that Naruto was more powerful than he, and that was unacceptable, but he swallowed his pride and kept silent and cool. The other squads from the other nations were watching the cloaked boy as well, knowing full and well that anyone powerful enough to take out the Demon of the Mist was a force to be cautious about. "Regardless, I think you guys will do fine," continued Kabuto while putting up his cards. "Most of these villages are new, and probably have weaker ninja due to their lesser amount of time to train for the exams here." At this point, a Sound team that was apparently offended at this and they made their way to the front of the room quickly, one hunched over genin went to punch Kabuto when he dodged out of the way and smirked, but shortly afterwards he doubled over in agony and retched, his glasses breaking simultaneously. The other genin were dumbfounded and took a step back. Naruto stood his ground and watched the whole event, noticing that Kabuto wasn't even touched, that this sound ninja probably used some sort of sound jutsu to harm his opponent from afar. Naruto knew these were dangerous ninja, he simply hoped his team was observant as he.

While Kabuto was down on his knees, the proctor for the exam entered with many other ninja in tow. He was very tall, had scars over his face, and a vile grimace that scared more than half of the attending genin. He immediately saw Kabuto picking himself off of the floor who was very near the front of the room with the rookie nine and shouted to the apparently guilty sound ninja, "No fighting, you scum, unless you want to be escorted out of here!"

"Sorry proctor, we were just a little… anxious to get started," said the hunched one as he and his team made their way back to their previous area. "At any rate… I want you guys to shut up, pick a number, and sit in your assigned seat! Now, move!"

Only a short while later, after introducing himself as Ibiki and explaining the test to the genin, the proctor started the timer. He stood in front of the room to watch for cheaters, while the secondary proctors around the room sat in various positions to best catch the students who dared to cheat. Naruto's resolve was firm as he began his exam, a paper so greatly difficult he doubted any genin, or chunin, or Jounin for that matter could pass it. He immediately knew that he was either supposed to cheat, or they were all meant to fail the exam, which he highly doubted. He realized what must be done, noticing that certain genin around the room had papers that were already complete, even though the test only just began. With his goal in mind, Naruto did the stealthiest, most unprecedented and by far the most effective method of cheating he could do: he looked at the paper next to his and copied.

Sasuke on the other hand was thinking about the goal of the exam for a while longer before he, too, discovered that many of the people around the room were already scratching down answers to these impossible questions, without even stopping. He knew they were cheating, for if they weren't, it was highly unlikely that ALL of the people writing could go on to the next answer without stopping to consider the question for even a moment. Sasuke noticed that above, someone was manipulating mirrors to reflect the answers to their paper, and it just happened that through that reflective lens he could also spy the answers that he required. He made haste to copy them down before the person controlling the mirrors could move them once more.

Sakura meanwhile was busy writing away, her answers appearing quite quickly compared to others around her. Ironically, the person sitting in front of her finished very quickly, deciding to take a nap, leaving his answers revealed, especially to her own eye. With the perfect vantage point of all the correct answers, Sakura easily completed every question. By the time she finished and looked up from her paper, she also noticed Naruto and Sasuke along with most of the other genin scratching away as well. She simply had to bide her time for the proctor to reveal the final, tenth question, which was due in just a few minutes.

After an excruciating amount of time had passed, and many genin having failed and been asked to leave the room with their teams after being caught cheating, about half of the original number remained, most of whom had finished their test. It was at this point Ibiki, the instructor in the black trench coat, told everyone after nearly an hour of silence, "Stop! Put your writing utensils down, and listen up!" practically causing some of the snoozing genin to jump out of their seats. Even Naruto, the emotionless brick, turned his head is surprise quickly toward the outburst, although nobody noticed. "Alright now it's time for the final question, although with it comes an ultimatum. It is up to each and every one of you whether your team fails or passes, but you either go all or nothing. If you choose to take the tenth question and fail it, you will remain genin… forever. If you choose to leave now with your team, then you will fail but you will be able to attempt the Chunin exams again another day. You have five minutes to give up or stay." Immediately after that, although nobody was speaking, the tension was palpable. Then, after a tense, silent minute or two, one genin called out his surrender, and stood. His team was called to exit the room. Immediately afterwards, various other genin who were frightened of the future and didn't want to let their team down surrendered, forfeiting their promotions for another six months, at least. Naruto sat, still and silent, not even considering forfeit, the suggestive thoughts in the back of his mind insinuated that this was merely a test of will, and that he should stay. Sasuke knew what was happening, he knew they were weeding out the weaklings, he knew he would be with the survivors and wait out the storm with them, he sat, silent, and waiting, although nervous either of his team mates may surrender and thus force his hand. He turned towards Naruto, who was sitting about twenty feet away, and noticed he was not moving. He felt confident that at this point, his team mate would pull though for him. He turned the other way to spy upon Sakura, who was nervous and shaking. Sakura was quite anxious, knowing that she could potentially ruin Sasuke's future, and by proxy her own and Naruto's futures. Only at the brink of forfeiture did she notice that her two team mates where sitting, calm and sure that they were doing the right thing. Sakura was worried, that was sure, but seeing her proud allies stand firm, or at least spotting Sasuke's firm visage looking back at her, knowing she couldn't surrender either. The time had passed as Ibiki shouted aloud once more, "Well… all of you who remain pass. Well done."

"What!?"

"You have to be kidding me. What a drag…"

"Munch, munch, munch…"

"Ah, what the hell, man."

"What was all that about?"

Ibiki laughed loudly, chortling at the expressions looking back at him. He so loved torturing the minds of genin, as oft as he could, which ironically wasn't that often. "Well, what kind of genin could I allow to pass who didn't have the guts to finish the mission eh? And for the ones caught cheating, they certainly lack the skills needed in the life of a ninja, stealth, especially regarding information, since information can prove invaluable to the right hands… or the wrong ones. In either case, I hereby pass all remaining genin, as aforementioned, and leave you to your second proctor for the second part of the exam, who should be here any moment—" And before Ibiki could finish, a figure burst through the window, wrapped in a trench coat, nobody was able to make out the figure until _she_ landed, unfurling from her coat, revealing a mesh shirt, short skirt, shin guards, and purple hair, of course all this was noticed by the genin who were also being pelted with glass shards and annoyance. "How irksome, it seems she's actually here on time, and I wasn't done having _fun_ with you kiddies yet. Alas, it cannot be helped. Anko, treat them well, you hear me?" Ibiki smirked before disappearing with his chunin proctors.

"Alright you worthless sods, I'm Anko, certainly-not-over-the-top proctor of the second part of this exam. We shall be meeting at training ground forty-four, also known as the forest of death. With haste, ladies, we don't have all day. Now, move it!"

Within the next thirty minutes, after the arrival of the genin at the outside of the forest of death, Anko explained this portion of the exam for the genin, who were anxiously peering past her and into the dark abyssal labyrinthine maze of titanic flora. "Alright kiddies, here's the objective. You all have five days to get two scrolls, one Earth scroll, and one Heaven scroll, and then get to the tower at the middle of the forest. Each team will begin with one scroll, so this is guaranteed to at least cut this party down to half. Now in this portion, everything is permitted, which may include your death at the hands of the enemy, or worse… and so we have these cool little pain waivers for you all to sign in order to continue, aye? Each team will come up when called, sign your waivers, and get your scroll before being escorted to your entrance to the forest of death. You CANNOT open your scrolls or anyone else's scrolls during the test. Are there any questions?" Anko asked with a malicious smirk. "No? Then let us begin immediately."

Team after team was called up into a small tent so that their scroll could be obtained in secrecy, before being escorted out by chunin to their beginning destination. Team seven of Konoha was called up eventually and they entered the tent after the previous team left. "Alright guys, sign these waivers quickly…" asked one of the chunin in the tent while Anko made sure they did everything right. She smirked at seeing Naruto and Sasuke enter, knowing full and well that these two were the golden boys of Konoha and they were going to shine in the exams. She's heard the stories that the other jounin speak of, and knows full and well what happened to Mizuki due to her friends in the Torture and Interrogation squad, although from what she heard, that night they acted more like the clean-up crew… In any case, she was anxious to see how they would do, and how much blood they would spill. She smiled slightly seeing the team exit, Naruto pocketing their Earth scroll in the satchel he kept on his back, under his cloak, a difficult place for enemies to reach without having to fight him. She watched him exit, knowing he would be a great shinobi before calling up the next team.

Team seven arrived at their entrance area, and they had about five minutes to prepare before the exam started officially, and a chunin was there with them to open the gate when the time started. They decided it was now time to tactically assess the situation and come up with a game plan. "Alright, Sakura, Naruto, we need to get a Heaven scroll, and whatever team we run into, there's obviously a fifty-fifty chance that they would have the scroll we need…" Sasuke started, grabbing Sakura's serious visage for once, knowing this was important. Naruto, too, was listening intently, prepared to give his advice if needed. "Teams start at least a kilometer away from each other, and we have five days. Chances are, there will be quite a bit of combat as well starting as this day ends, and a safe place to stay will be hard to find, to say the least. What I think we should do is begin waiting upon entering instead of heading in without any clue what we're doing. We wait and rest until night and then—" Sasuke was interrupted as Sakura's eyes gleamed with understanding as she continued. "We attack during the night while they're all resting. Sasuke, you're so smart!" "Is this fine, Naruto?" Sasuke seriously asked his repressively silent team mate. Sasuke would never admit it, but he knew that Naruto knew what he was doing, and he could trust the boy's judgment, even if he didn't like him. Naruto waited for a second before hesitantly nodding. "Alright, then we find a "safe" place within twenty minutes, and rest there until night fall. Get ready guys…" Sakura gulped and Naruto stood, silent as ever, a testament to his enduring self.

"So Kakashi, what do you think of your team?" asked a dark haired woman with red eyes, wearing naught but a bandage type outfit, almost as if she were a mummy. She sat in a jounin lounge with other notable jounin, particularly sensei of the teams in the chunin exams. Heads turned towards Kakashi who took a quick sip of his sake before recovering his face and looking at his friend, Kurenai. "Heh, well, let us just say that my team will pass." "Kakashi, you're so full of confidence, and arrogance! Don't you think that kind of pride is counterproductive for a team?" Kurenai asked him. Kakashi looked at her with a calm look in his eye, before responding, "Kurenai, you weren't there in Wave. I know you guys have heard the stories…" Kakashi started as the other jounin turned towards him, lending their ears to his every word, for none were familiar with the exact details of the mission. "Trust me, Sakura may be lacking physically, and Sasuke may be a prodigy, but Naruto… Naruto is something else, far out of this league he's competing in. He's much smarter than he has let on, not even the Hokage, the person he's closest to, knows how smart he truly is. And his physical prowess is… well, he could take Zabuza on in a fight, without trying. He would possibly defeat me, maybe not in outright strength but in cunning and manipulation..." The others gasped at this while Kakashi sat, still and contemplative. "He trains harder than most his age. Itachi Uchiha has _nothing_ on him. This boy is the precursor of a new age, and something immense, although what it is exactly remains to be seen." A blonde jounin, a certain Inoichi Yamanaka listened, contemplating, wondering how he could assist the boy.

It was nightfall now, and the well-rested team seven left the tree hollow where they had camped for the day, packing up their bags and preparing to move out. Sakura noticed that Naruto was taking longer than her or Sasuke, having had more of his materials out, in preparation for their nightly upcoming escapade. "Naruto, hurry yourself up! We don't have all night and we need to get moving, immediately! Stop screwing around you knucklehead!" Naruto stopped what he was doing to look at her menacingly, she couldn't make out his face like normal, but she could see the reflections of his eyes in the black void from the dark twilight about. He was staring right at her, almost an inaudible way to silence her. Sasuke sighed and pulled her away while Naruto resumed packing his materials. "Sasuke! Tell Naruto that—" Sakura started but Sasuke cut her off. "Sakura, leave Naruto alone. What is your problem with him? I don't like him much either but he is on our team, and I don't like admitting this but… he's stronger than I. We need him. And you berating him is only going to slow us down. I want you to stop this nonsense, and stop treating your own team mate like trash, especially in dangerous territory. We have to work together, no matter our differences, alright? Now leave him alone, if you don't feel like helping him, don't say anything about him working and you not working." Sakura looked shocked; surprised that Sasuke would defend Naruto, even though he openly admitted to not liking him. Sakura nodded, knowing he spoke the truth, and proceeded to wait silently for Naruto, who appeared momentarily with a fully packed sealing scroll and nodded to their assurance that everything would be okay with him around. Unbeknownst to them, Naruto heard what Sasuke said, and although Naruto liked absolutely nobody, he did appreciate with slight animosity what Sasuke had said, and appreciating that Sakura would leave him be.

Sasuke thought to himself as team seven took to the trees in the darkness, using advanced scouting techniques to search for nearby teams, mostly on the part of Naruto, who was the subject of Sasuke's thoughts. 'That genin… he's something else. I don't know why, but he gives me the creeps. I know Sakura doesn't like him, and I sure as hell don't like him, but we need him to win this. Not to mention her constant bickering was annoying, and her constant antagonizing of Naruto would've led to our collective downfall, and I cannot let myself be held back. I need to defeat him… and if Naruto is this strong, I'm sure cooperating with him will grant me more of an edge against him… Itachi… I wonder how strong he really is. Was he this strong at Naruto's age? Is Naruto _stronger_ than him? There's no way, no matter how formidable he is… I wonder why Sakura kept mocking him and trying to humiliate him in public. Perhaps he has done something to cause her ire? In any case, at least now that she will stop badgering us we can cooperate at least a bit better without aliening our powerhouse team mate…'

'Sasuke, why did you say that to me, I thought you loved me! Oh, Sasuke, that Naruto has you so intimidated you don't want to anger him at all… Mother was correct; Naruto is a demon, a monster. He isn't fit to be a ninja, especially not on me and Sasuke's team. Mother was always right, he was always alone, and always will be alone because he's not right. Sasuke-kun has been alone, but he won't be forever, he isn't a freak like Naruto. That… thing is too powerful, even if it pains Sasuke-kun to admit it, I could tell in his voice. He is too powerful; no wonder Sasuke doesn't want to anger him, he's probably scared, although I am too… Mother said he couldn't do anything to us because we're ninja, so I'm not as frightened as I used to be... But if this is what Sasuke wants then I'll leave that sick freak alone for now… I just hope he doesn't want in my pants, too. I'm saved for Sasuke-kun, thank you very much!'

Naruto however was focused at the task at hand, and soon, within minutes of leaving their camp, his jutsu succeeded. Naruto, after witnessing Zabuza's repeated mist techniques, came up with his own versions of it. Since he had mass amounts of chakra to spare, he could expel quite a bit, creating a 'field' of sorts around himself. Within this field, he could observe faster than the eyes or ears could perceive movement, he could detect life, heat, and even the quietest of noises. Naruto had nearly a half-kilometer of this chakra field around himself as he advanced towards the center of the forest in order to search for nearby teams, and he found two teams nearby, one's chakra signatures felt familiar, but the other not so much. Naruto stopped his team and pointed in two different directions, Sasuke and Sakura realizing there were two enemy camps nearby. "We should take out both," stated Naruto. "He's right, that would limit our opponents in the next part of the exam," agreed Sasuke. "Are they asleep Naruto, or do you sense them moving around?" Naruto focused a bit more for a few more moments before responding, "Asleep." His laconic nature was enraging Sakura, but little did she or Sasuke know how it hurt him to speak. "Good," responded Sasuke, "let's move out."

They came upon a small clearing, with three ninja from Ame sleeping out in the open, like… well, genin. Sasuke quietly advanced first, and prepared poisoned senbon in order to paralyze his enemy, Sakura came second and prepared a genin-level genjutsu that would keep her opponent asleep, while Naruto simply crouched over his target, his hand outstretched. Sasuke nodded and simultaneously, the three incapacitated their enemies, although Sakura and Sasuke gasped at seeing blood spray from Naruto's opponent. "Naruto, are you insane!" Sakura whispered loudly at him, not wanting to alert the other team that was less than a hundred meters away. Naruto didn't respond as he wiped blood from his clawed gauntlet and ransacked all of their possessions, taking all useable supplies and finding another earth scroll in their possession. They left in the direction of the next team, leaving this one with no supplies whatsoever, no weapons, no scroll, and one dead team mate. Sakura had to feel bad for them, knowing when they awakened they would certainly be distraught. Sasuke knew it was his job, his duty, he had to ruthlessly do what had to be done, but even he had some compassion compared to Naruto's actions.

They arrived within eyesight of their next targets, seeing a snoring Shikamaru and Choji next to Ino. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked to Naruto quickly, who nodded before she could open her mouth. She may not have particularly liked them, but even Naruto knew that Sakura wouldn't want to watch her fellow Konoha ninja die before her. They arrived quickly and found the scroll in Ino's possession, taking it and leaving the extra Earth scroll as a "payment" of sorts. Team seven successfully exited the campsite and made for the center of the forest, knowing they had successfully crippled at least one opponent team. After a few hours, it was late at night, or early in the morning as Naruto estimated, when Sasuke stopped, causing Sakura to cease along with Naruto. "It's late, and we already have our scrolls. Let's set up camp and rest for a few hours and start again during the morning." Naruto and Sakura both nodded, and the three ate and prepared a well hidden encampment where they would be hidden from view, although that didn't stop the cloaked boy from setting a few discrete traps around their position.

"Kakashi, how could you possibly say that a genin, and of all people, Naruto…" started Kurenai again, much later. She along with a few other of the Konoha jounin sensei were still waiting in the tower at the center of the Forest of Death. "You don't understand, Kurenai," Kakashi started tiredly, closing his orange book yet again with an exasperated sigh, "Naruto is unlike others his age, or even our age. Since he was young, Sarutobi has been assisting with his growth, and even beyond that, the boy spends much of his time off somewhere, nobody knows where he goes usually. But Sarutobi explains that he trains, and trains, and trains himself to the point of exhaustion, and then some. The beast within him augments his body beyond what we can imagine, to survive even the deadliest of encounters and harshest environments. We even suspect that he may be able to regenerate limbs. We don't know exactly, and that's all we do know. Naruto is… he is something else. He was trained for the last few years by the Hokage personally, and that means something." The jounin pondered in silence for a few moments, for Guy to speak up moments later. "Kakashi, what would you say about his… self, his being? We know he wasn't exactly living optimally, but… you and I both know, we ALL know that people who live like that and attain great powers turn eventually, my rival. They turn from the fires of youth into the darkness of madness associated with aforementioned powers. We can't possibly allow another Itachi event to unfold before us, especially since you say he has much more potential than even that Uchiha... and perhaps even worse is the thought that he contains further untold powers with the bijuu. This is a recipe for disaster." Guy was about to continue when Inoichi spoke up and interrupted the green man's thoughts. "Guy, Sarutobi-sama and I are both working to heal his wounds, past and present. We can't do any more than we already are. We have to observe, understand, and then we may help. There is much work ahead of us, but so much to gain if he were to regain his lost humanity. His power as an ally would be beyond beneficial to our country…" Inoichi trailed off as the other jounin further mused about the boy they wished had been taken care of in his youth before he posed this potential threat. "Kakashi… do you think we stand a chance at stopping him and his inner beast if he were to go rogue?"

It was morning, although in the thick, claustrophobic density of the dark forest, only the faintest, emerald shade of light pierced the canopy, only stretching the ambient shadows rather than removing them with the sun's revealing rays. It was then that the most perceptive of the three genin awakened, feeling something odd, as if something weren't right with his surroundings. He made to move when his neck burned with a slight pain, when he reached up to touch his neck, he noticed his hand was covered with dried blood… he quickly stood and looked around before screaming, startling his other companion to consciousness before she, too, screamed, their third team mate was dead, his neck ripped to ribbons, the surrounding clearing splattered with blood, along with the remaining two genin. They didn't even think to check their scroll, which they would not have found anyway. Only a few hundred meters away, a cloaked blonde ninja stirred, hearing even from that distance in the stifling forest the screams of his enemies. He noticed his two fellow genin were still fast asleep, not hearing the faint cries in the distance. He decided to allow them to rest longer, they were weaker than him after all, or so he rationalized. He made sure all the traps were still intact, to ensure no enemies had attempted anything, before dismantling them and returning them to his satchel. He then posted himself in the canopy above, to keep an eye out for nearby threats while his team slept. He lowered his hood, to feel the cool morning breeze brush against his upper face, if only for a moment. Only an hour later, the genin squad left their camp, leaving no detectable trace of them ever being there. They jumped with great agility through the trees, and made for the center of the forest, their goal, wasting little time.

Naruto and his team stealthily navigated through the brush, Naruto's advanced senses providing great assistance in avoiding threats. It was later on that they stopped to eat in one of the larger trees, so far above the ground they couldn't make it out. Sasuke suggested they rest for a bit and eat, so that they could potentially make it to the tower by nightfall. Naruto nodded an agreement and Sakura sang her approval. Sakura and Sasuke began working on their small meals, while Naruto kept guard, which slightly confused the other two. "Naruto, you should eat. If you're weak from hunger, you'll hold us back," argued an annoyed pink-haired girl. Naruto didn't respond, just kept sitting on the branch next to his allies. "Naruto, Sakura is correct. You should eat, you haven't eaten all day…" began the prodigy. Again, Naruto held still and silent, as stone. Sakura let out an annoyed grunt and Sasuke sighed exasperatedly. Then, without warning, Naruto jumped up from his sitting position into an alert stance, alerting the other two to potential danger. They put their food away and stood up quickly, their guard raised, before Sakura asked, "Naruto, why the hell can't I finish eating…?" Before Naruto had a chance to answer, as if he was going to anyway, something monstrous crashed through the trees below, the team could see massive amounts of shrubbery and wood moving away from the path of what was apparently a massive creature. Sakura watched in horror as an absolutely gigantic lavender serpent quickly rose through the brush and attempted to eat her, or swallow her whole. She screamed as Sasuke, with quick thinking, tackled her out of the way before the branch she was on splintered into thousands of shreds of wood, Naruto was already gone. "Damn him, he almost let me die! Thank you so much Sasuke for saving me!" she exclaimed, although Sasuke wasn't paying attention to her… he was staring face-to-face with a rather large adversary.

The snake lunged again forcing the two genin to leap out of the way, Sakura's heart was throbbing, not only did a giant snake tried to eat her, but as she glanced down, the earth seemed to plummet into oblivion, the gaping abyss of the forest made a primal fear of heights affect her. She shakily landed on a branch away from the serpent before crouching and grasping it tightly, determined not to move from her safe perch above the dark, emerald pit. Sasuke landed, disregarding the height at which he was fighting, focused solely on his enemy. He threw shuriken, kunai, and cast one of his fire jutsu, nothing wounded it, but it certainly gained the snake's attention. It lashed out with its tail, throwing Sasuke into another tree, winding him and leaving him unable to move momentarily. The snake's primal instincts knew his prey was weak, and thus the prime target was Sasuke. It lunged, its maw ready to swallow the boy, who couldn't move from the previous blow. Before he was destroyed, he saw Sakura on a branch nearby, too scared to move, she was screaming a name, he couldn't make it out, the adrenaline and blood flowing through his system blocking out all sound. He was forcibly pushed or tackled so veritably, he absolutely flew towards Sakura, who caught him. Sasuke, in a daze, turned, seeing a flash of grey garb being swallowed by the serpent, but he was certain Naruto was too far advanced to be eaten by a mere snake, no matter the size… Moments later, as the snake turned, he realized what Naruto had planned. "Sakura, get down!"

An explosion rocked the forest's very foundations, dozens of paper bombs were planted on that shadow clone.

The two genin rose again, to see gruesome remains of what resembled a ruptured intestine with scales, and their cloaked friend before them, his back turned to them, still standing alert. "Naruto, why are you still alert? I'm relatively certain that the creature shall not rise again." Sasuke noted, before feeling a dread aura consume him, and he felt Sakura next to him tense as well. A deadly shroud of hatred and immense power surrounded them, the source unknown…

They heard a wicked laugh. The laugh died down, but it seemed to come from all directions. Naruto was far too distracted by the aura that he couldn't focus on his detection abilities. "Ha, it seems the 'almighty' team seven isn't as powerful as I've heard… what a shame. I was certain after witnessing you destroy my pet that you would be able to withstand my killer intent. Apparently I overestimated you brats. Well, our time together is nearly at an end, so I must go ahead and kill you all now!" spoke a pale man who stepped onto a branch not too far away. He looked young, and his visage was twisted, and surreal, but demented. His tongue was swathing about, absurdly long dangling from his mouth, and his eyes gleamed with an evil yellow glow. He smirked as Naruto launched, faster than Sakura and Sasuke could witness, towards the wicked man, who stood his ground and continued smirking. The boy landed a solid blow to the man's… hand. He blocked even faster than Naruto had moved. What the man didn't suspect was the actual Naruto coming from behind and kicking his smug grin off of the branch, utterly surprising the man who grunted in pain as he landed farther away and the first 'Naruto' disappeared. "You brat! What a lucky shot…" the man grimaced. He realized he did underestimate one of them.

He realized who this was, hearing stories of the infamous grey-cloaked boy from his spies. The pariah. The demon. The orphan. Naruto Uzumaki, container of the Kyuubi. He knew that this power was from the fox, and he knew a special seal that would distort the connection, allowing him to continue on with his plans. It was then he realized what he had to do in order to acquire his true prize. "Well, well, well… who do we have here? A little nobody who thinks he's a somebody? Indeed… I think we'll have to do something about that, now won't we?" The pale man vanished from sight, and Naruto continued his detection ability, realizing a quickly incoming difference in air pressure was directly behind him. He leaped out of the way as the branch he was on exploded into a shower of wooden shrapnel. "Oh, it seems you have some skill after all, boy. I'll have to deal with you the old-fashioned way then!" The pale man appeared before Naruto, giving the boy no time to react. He knew he was slower than the pale man, only tactics could win this battle, but he also knew brute force could triumph over tactics in some cases… well, as the pale man's hand was moving faster than Naruto could see, towards him, he knew brute force would win this day. The man didn't punch, but utterly socked Naruto in the chest, causing him to fly through a massive tree trunk and into another tree. Naruto couldn't move… he could barely sustain this damage but the sheer force overwhelmed his senses… he couldn't move. He was shocked that the man was so fast and powerful, wondering why he was in the genin exams… before he realized. Earlier, before the snake attacked, he knew someone else was nearby, waiting to attack based on the snake battle. He created two clones and hid his chakra signature and himself farther away, and used his detection ability. He detected someone, but their dermal layer felt so odd in his chakra net, as if it were spongy, or bloated. He also smelled death on the man. He now knew, he was wearing a dead skin mask. As the man chuckled and briskly paced toward Naruto, the boy lifted two fingers toward the man, his pale visage not revealing anything but satisfaction at the boy's torment. "Oh, what's this? You plan to point at me until I die? Ha!" Naruto smirked through the pain, knowing that arrogance allowed Naruto to win today, before the man's head exploded into mud. Naruto's eyes widened, he thought it was the real man. "You think I'd let you use any ability against me boy? Now I know you hold some serious power in that pointing technique of yours… thanks for the warning, imbecile. I think you have too much power, and not enough experience… It's too bad, you could have really become a prodigy yourself…" started the pale man, again walking toward the boy, before he stopped, knowing a split second in advance that he needed to defend himself against massive force. The boy exploded, another clone with paper bombs, shooting the man into another tree, causing him to leave an indent. He groaned as he slipped down, landing on a lower branch. Sakura and Sasuke were shocked, and in awe, observing Naruto's skill, and also observing how the man's face was half sloughing off.

The man stood, his smirk replaced with a scowl, and he said no more words, but took note of where the boy was. He ripped the dead skin mask off of his face, revealing a very serpentine visage, with slit yellow eyes and thin, even paler skin. He then leaped toward the boy who was crouched on a much higher branch than the other nearby people, who had no time to react as the pale man tackled him down into a branch, cracking it severely and causing the boy to cry out in pain. The pale man did not relent, he continued laying blows on the boy, punching quickly, fiercely, soaking the boy's scarf with blood and saliva. At this point, as Naruto was being beaten on a branch while being held, his hood fell back, revealing his blue eyes contorting with pain. He cried out again as the wind was knocked out of him. The man stood back up and kicked with all his might, the boy's back bending at odd angles as his body wrapped around a tree trunk backwards before falling to a lower branch again, unmoving. The pale man chuckled darkly and advanced toward him as his team mates cried out for him. Sasuke knew he had to act then.

He couldn't stop it though. He couldn't make it to that distance in time. He noticed the man's hand radiating a venomous looking purple aura before he jabbed it into Naruto's stomach. He cried out in pain once more before falling silent, Sasuke feared the worst… The pale snake man casually threw the body aside, and he began plummeting toward the ground far below, falling out of sight… Naruto's senses died down, he was falling into unconsciousness, the last thing he sensed before darkness was Sasuke screaming and moving toward the man… and then blackness.

It was already noon, as the three genin travelling through the forest felt a series of large explosions in the distance. "What the hell was that!?" exclaimed a blonde haired girl with blue eyes. "I don't know but… I think we need to get as far away from that event as possible. I still can't believe someone switched scrolls with us last night… what a drag," replied a bored looking thin boy with his hair in a ponytail. "Yeah, I can't believe they evaded our detection!" said a notably shorter and fatter boy, who was eating a bag of chips. "Our detection?" the blonde girl turned on the fat boy with a look of annoyance. "Detection!? You sleep like a rock! If someone stabbed you with kunai, you'd still sleep! You only would have awakened if you heard the rustle of food bags!" After a long silent pause, the trio continued, away from a second blast they heard in the distance. "It doesn't matter now, Ino. The fact is we need the other scroll now. So, the next teams we come across, we have to fight. We need that scroll to pass." Ino and Choji, albeit hesitantly, agreed with a nod. Ino shut up and led the way, Shikamaru followed, keeping an eye out for threats. Choji followed last, munching on his favorite dried fruits.

It was late at night while the Jounin were sitting in the tower, still waiting for their genin squads to return. Three days were left after this night, so some of the remaining Jounin were becoming a bit nervous, although Kakashi kept reading his book. Multiple, general discussions were going on, mostly to keep from boredom, when Anko came in looking worried, which was very rare. Kakashi took note of this but said nothing, Kurenai couldn't help herself, though. "Anko, what's the matter? Did something happen?" Other conversations continued, ninja were worried all the time, and they didn't want to eavesdrop, or at least not much. "It seems that… we have unexpected visitors here in our exam," the purple haired woman replied. The other jounin stopped speaking, silence prevalent. Unwanted guests usually meant something bad was going on. "We don't know yet, but from what we found, we may have a serious issue. The team from the Land of Grass was found dead, and their faces were flayed. They've been dead for a couple days, so when we saw that team last before they entered the forest, it was impostors, using their faces as dead skin masks..." Kakashi closed his book, his one visible eye was widened slightly, and worry was shown by all, including him. She was then bombarded with questions from all the jounin, before she silenced them all with a stern look. "We have our best trackers and investigators on it. All we have to go on is what the Inuzuka observed, that the corpses smelled of snakes…" Kakashi's face darkened as he muttered a name the other jounin feared to hear as the potential cause. "Orochimaru…"

Naruto slowly awakened, not knowing where he was. Something was off. Many things were unseemly. He felt cold, weak, but he felt clarity. As if he had been living with restraints on his brain, it wasn't that he felt smarter, but as if a fog that unknowingly befuddled him before was gone. First thing he realized, his shirt and scarf were gone and his cloak and hood were off, although fresh bandages were applied to his wounds, which weren't healed yet... He shakily scrambled to his knees, seeing that he was in a small cave of some sort, unable to stand up entirely. His eyes were adjusting to the darkness when he saw his scarf and adorned it immediately, before realizing his ally Sasuke was asleep next to him, with a rather painful looking new addition to his neck, a small, dark, tribal tattoo. He heard a cry of pain from outside before he could take note of anything else. He ran outside, leaving his satchel behind, only donning his scarf, without his cloak, shirt and hood. He stood before a scene, quickly taking note of how low the sun was in the sky, late afternoon.

Naruto witnessed Sakura, engaged, or once engaged, in a battle with three tougher enemy ninja, the sound ninja he remembered from the first exam. Nobody noticed him yet, his grey clothing allowing him to easily blend in with his surroundings with the decent level of darkness this late in the day. One of the ninja, the female, was holding Sakura's head back by her hair, kunai to her throat. She was on the verge of crying, knowing she was about to die. The two men were laughing at her face when a green flash appeared from nowhere, alerting the three enemy ninja to its presence. Rock Lee then stood battle ready. "I'll not allow you to endanger young Sakura! Keep away from her!" He cried out and quickly landed a series of blows on the female Sound ninja, after Sakura cut off her own luscious hair with a kunai to get away. She was exhausted, apparently having fought the enemy for some time before Naruto awakened. She rolled toward some bushes to keep out of the center of the clearing where Rock Lee was battling against the Sound genin. Only then did she utter a gasp in fear, seeing the genin with the sound gauntlet disable Rock Lee and make him vomit. He was kicked to the side, disoriented and unable to fight. Sakura was sure his unmatched speed and strength would save her this day… Naruto barely sensed three more genin before they appeared from the shrubbery, a feat that appalled him. He was usually able to sense all nearby people with his advanced senses… before he realized his advanced senses weren't so advanced anymore. He realized it was the team they stole the scroll from, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. They did battle with these superior genin, who quickly thwarted their attempts, although it was not gone unheeded, as it weakened them. The female of the sound team was out of commission, while the sound boy with the tubes embedded in his hands tended her wounds dealt by the newly arrived squad. Now Ino and Choji lay defeated and nearly unconscious on the ground, whimpering in pain, Shikamaru stood, still ready to do battle with the remaining enemy with the gauntlet. Rock Lee was slowly recovering, almost ready to get back into action, and Sakura was continuously on the verge of passing out.

Naruto stood, shakily at first, but then slowly he regained his strength, apparently not having used his muscles for some time, signaling to him that he had not been out for only a few hours… Nonetheless, nobody paid attention to the boy, nobody even realized he was now conscious, but that made it easier to do what had to be done. As the sound genin charged toward Shikamaru with his sound gauntlet raised, something happened that shocked all present, even some that weren't present but observing. A shirtless Naruto without his cloak or hood, only his scarf, appeared behind the charging man, and although not as quickly as he usually would, it was still faster than most genin. The sound genin didn't realize what was about to happen, until his other male team mate yelled his name, "Dosu! Watch out behind you!" The boy Dosu had no idea any of his opponents would be ready to attack his unprotected back, he ceased his charge and turned quickly, only to come face-to-face with a horrific visage of an angry Naruto, whose metal clawed gauntlet was stretched toward him. Being experienced, and Naruto being weakened from his earlier endeavor, Dosu was able to barely dodge the fatal blow that was to come, instead being inflicted by a painful but nonfatal wound. The clawed gauntlet was open, the claws were meant to rend and tear his throat, but instead seriously sliced Dosu's chest, and blood splattered outward from him as he fell, alive, but unconscious from the excruciating attack. Shikamaru was shocked, but thankful as he nodded towards Naruto, for the first time being able to see the upper part of the genin's pale face and pale blonde hair. The sound ninja departed, the conscious male dragging both of his allies away, furiously swearing revenge on them all.

Rock Lee went to attend to Sakura, exclaiming about his passion and youth and being her savior. On the other hand, Naruto was approached by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. "Thanks for your help, Naruto. I fear that without you, this would have been a most unfortunate and troublesome day," said Shikamaru, both Choji and Ino being too intimidated by Naruto's cold gaze and blood splattered gauntlets and chest to say anything, much less thank him. Naruto nodded in response, as the other team left hastily, leaving team seven alone as Lee had gone already. Sakura approached Naruto. "Naruto! I thought you were in a coma! I tried everything and couldn't awaken you… Thank you for… saving us today…" She paused and allowed Naruto to nod. "Well, I suppose you want to know what happened yesterday." Naruto paused for a moment. "Yesterday?"

"Naruto, the snake man, he… he finished you. We thought you were dead… he fought us and, well, he mostly fought Sasuke. While Sasuke was fighting the man, Sasuke's Sharingan activated! But even then, he defeated Sasuke as well and bit him. The weirdo BIT Sasuke, on the neck! It left some weird, glowing tattoo or seal but I've never seen anything like it. Sasuke passed out from it and the snake man left. I brought Sasuke safely to the ground, and searched for you as well. I found you in pretty bad condition, I was almost sure you had a few broken bones, but you seem fine now… I found this hollow tree for us to recuperate in. You've been unconscious for over a day. Right before you awakened, those Sound genin came here and wanted to fight Sasuke, but I couldn't allow them to. I fought them and did pretty… poorly. Luckily I had allies to assist," Sakura explained. Naruto nodded. "Also, there's a creek right over there, if you want to wash up or anything. I'll be tending to Sasuke." Naruto nodded once more, before beginning to set up basic traps around the encampment to prevent further intrusions. When he finished, and before he went to wash up at the creek, he heard Sakura say something just barely audible to him, "Naruto, I never knew… those scars..." Naruto replied shortly and coldly before going to the water source nearby, "And you still don't," letting Sakura know she wasn't allowed to tell anyone else what tales his face told…

He came back fresh, rejuvenated, although still feeling a bit cool and weaker than normal, and his senses still seemed a bit restrained, but his mind still seemed so vividly clear, as if a faint shroud had been removed. He found Sakura inside the tree stump tending to Sasuke. He quickly adorned his spare clothing from his satchel, as the clothing he was wearing previously was bloodstained and ripped. Once he seemed like new, he noticed Sasuke stirring, much to Sakura's pleasure. "What… why does my neck hurt…?" Sasuke first moaned out, barely conscious. "Sasuke, try not to worry too much about it… please. The snake man bit you on the neck and it left some sort of tattoo or seal…" Sakura tried to ease the news unto him, but he didn't take it well. "What!?" echoed through the forest from a very unhappy genin.

It was late in the day, the sun beginning to dip below what little horizon could be seen, and darkness befalling the world. Team seven had been travelling all day, and strangely enough they nearly stumbled upon other squads, which would have been bad considering the condition of the two fighters on the team. Naruto could barely make out their presences from ten yards away, so more than once they were nearly attacked, and saved only by quick reflexes and clone distractions. The tower could be seen in the distance, barely, and the team of genin, being tired, beaten, and unable to continue for much more, made haste toward their destination. Although without Naruto's detection field working properly, none of them realized they were being followed…

"We're so close!" Sakura squealed, annoying her two team members, although they, too, were glad to some extent that this portion of the test would be over and done with. "Yes, and once we arrive I can have this neck seal looked at…" Sasuke added. They thought wrong. A dark feeling plagued the edge of Sasuke's senses, and before he could react, Naruto barely had time to warn them, "Move!" The three jumped away from each other where a hail of crossbow bolts immediately plagued the ground, the genin knew had they not moved they would be pincushions. They looked for the source of the attack, seeing a squad of Ame ninja walking out of the shrubbery on the ground, one of them holding a very nasty looking crossbow, which he was reloading. "Give up your scrolls now, Konoha trash, and we'll consider going easy on you," their leader asked, his hand outstretched in the common 'give me' motion. Sakura shouted back, "Yeah right! You should give up now and leave while you can!" Sasuke growled low as his eyes turned to red and black swirls, the notorious Sharingan. The young man growled beneath his rebreather before nodding and his two subordinates went to work. One of them disappeared into the mud, the other aimed his crossbow, and the leader held his ground, not moving. Sakura moved to hide behind a tree, the place where she was standing a second earlier now coated with bolts. Naruto made straight for Sasuke and pushed him out of the way, toward the crossbow-wielding enemy, before the other ninja burst from the earth below, now before Naruto, who reared back and released a massive blow, which combined with his metal gauntlets left quite the impression with the Ame ninja, who was literally knocked out from one hit to his head.

Sasuke, using Naruto's throw, straightened himself in the air as the ninja he was speeding towards shot bolts at him. A few tore at his body, but with his Sharingan he was able to deflect and dodge most. Sasuke landed on the Ame ninja, and landed blows on him repeatedly. The ninja seemed to rely on his crossbow far too much, meaning his melee skills were less than a match for the prodigy. With a final kick, Sasuke launched the ninja into the air, jumped up after him, and landed an axe kick which sent his enemy speeding into the ground below, obviously unable to fight further.

The leader still stood, unfazed. Before Naruto or Sasuke attempted attacking him, however, Sakura appeared near him, within the bushes, and launched shuriken at him. Apparently she was useful after all. Naruto watched, waiting for his enemy to fall like the two before him… as the shuriken passed through the ninja and he leapt out of the way. He realized what was happening when Sakura screamed and Sasuke shouted for Naruto. The Ame ninja appeared from the ground behind him and ran Naruto through with a blade. Naruto fell to his knees, not even turning to see his attacker, before he disappeared with a poof and a stabbed log appeared in his place. Naruto was in the bushes panting, exertion shrouded over him in a way he'd never known before. He'd never been this tired, this slow, this dulled during combat. It was frightening to him. He would have nearly died if it wasn't for his advanced experience from training with the Hokage. Sakura calmed herself and pulled out more shuriken and kunai, prepared to engage the enemy from afar and not allow him to get close to her. Sasuke entered his preferred battle stance, Sharingan active and spinning in a vortex of crimson and blackness. Sasuke charged at the Ame ninja, who held his blade at the ready, when suddenly a dozen sprung up from the earth between him and the charging Konoha prodigy, who didn't even cease his charge, and began battling the closest ones. Sakura watched in awe as Sasuke dived, spun, flipped, and otherwise dodged the attacks while countering with his own brutal kicks and hits, causing the clones to disperse into globs of mud. He was nicked a few times, blood and torn clothing making him seem that much more amazing to the girl, who apparently forgot she was holding weapons that would help her comrade. Before Sasuke arrived at the backing Ame ninja, who was about to call upon more mud clones, Sasuke jumped backwards, surprising the Ame ninja who stood still… before his chest exploded outwards, causing Sakura to scream and widen her eyes, and Sasuke scowled in slight disgust. Naruto used his special chakra bullet ability to take care of the situation while Sasuke kept him occupied. Naruto emerged from the flora, tired, panting, shaking. He checked all the bodies for scrolls and supplies, walking past Sasuke and Sakura, before motioning for them to follow him to the tower. They left the carnage behind, the two unconscious Ame ninja destined to wake up and find their team mate ruined before them.

They arrived at the tower within half an hour, it was at least eleven o'clock, and all three genin were absolutely exhausted. It was inside that they found… nothing. A large room with a sign, upon which was written a rather interesting metaphorical riddle regarding heaven and earth, the trio easily realizing it was about the heaven and earth scrolls. Once opened, they realized it was a summoning scroll, and before they knew it, Kakashi stood before them, looking as indifferent as ever. "Greetings my students, it seems you have successfully treaded the great forest dreaded, and decrypted the rather simplistic riddle above. And, it just so seems that the lucky duty of this jounin is to tell you what's next. You guys actually did fairly well; it's only been three days. There's still a couple days' time remaining, so why don't you go rest up in the barracks? Take this key upstairs. There's food, warm water, and soft beds, which I'm sure you all miss. There's a gym that a few of the genin have been using to train, if you're so inclined… Otherwise, great job, guys. You did really well. And now that's taken care of. Sasuke, we need to talk in private. Sakura, Naruto, take this key to the room upstairs for team seven, rest." Kakashi pressed for them to take their leave, as he led Sasuke down a separate hallway.

Naruto could feel Sakura was tense, although not nearly as obnoxious as usual, due to her silence, surprisingly. They arrived at the room where Sakura left him immediately heading for the shower and locking it loud enough for Naruto to hear. Naruto on the other hand simply removed his cloak, hood, satchel and belts so that he could rest on one of the beds. He fell asleep shortly, his mind wandering, his spirit draining slowly as he considered himself growing weaker ever since that battle with the snake…

"Anko, is your seal aching much as of late?" asked the aged Hokage worriedly to the purple-haired woman in his office. "Yeah… It's not hurting nearly as much since you've helped, Hokage-sama…" she answered, sighing as she gently massaged the recently tended-to tattoo on her shoulder. "Hokage-sama, you know that… this means without a doubt that..." the Hokage interrupted her with a slight wave of his hand, silencing her. After a moment of silence, he sighed loudly, slowly, exasperated. He motioned toward the scarred man in the black trench coat and a couple of higher ranked masked ANBU. "Anko, Ibiki, I want you to continue monitoring the exams, and if you see or hear ANYTHING, you will call for backup and let me know as soon as possible, but keep this quiet, keep this clean, we don't want the enemy to know what we know." Anko and Ibiki nodded solemnly. "The rest of you… I want full ANBU updates on the hour, constantly. Something is going on here, and with Orochimaru around, I don't want chances to be taken. I want all ANBU notified post-haste, but covertly. We have a delicate situation… I pray for our own sakes that we can prevail…"

It was late at night, or early in the morning, Naruto knew exactly not, due to only the dull blackness he could see through the window in the room. In the faint outline of the night's pale light, he could make out on the other beds in the room two other breathing figures, and he could hear them as well. One was slightly silhouetted in pink, in the other in dark blue or black, Sakura and Sasuke respectively. He felt so weak, but he could not sleep any further this night, his natural instincts keeping him from sleeping any more than six to seven hours at a time. He arose, clad in his shirt, pants, and scarf only, and left the room silently, not alerting his team mates. In the hallway, although his senses were dulled as compared to what he was used to, he could still hear or otherwise sense other genin squads in the surrounding rooms, but he knew not where his sensei or any other jounin would be. He went onward, exploring the tower alone in the darkness, searching for someone who may or may not be able to take him to the Hokage…

"Gaara, are you well? You've been… off recently," asked a blonde girl to a rather distressed looking red-headed boy, whose eyes were twitching along with the corner of his mouth. He and his two siblings were present during the Rookie Nine event that took place directly before the first exam, and since then, his siblings have noticed how much more off he was, how stressed he seemed to be, and even though he barely spoke, as of late he spoke even less. "I'm fine, Temari…" trailed the red-head, growling slightly. "Gaara, we all know something is up. Let us know what the problem is, bro. We're here as a team, and-" the war-paint covered boy was cut off by the red head, aptly named Gaara, "I said I'm FINE. Silence yourself, Kankuro…" The red head was growling darkly, twitching more and sweating. His siblings knew not that he could feel something, somebody more dangerous than even the snake that his country and father had secretly allied with. He could feel a powerful bijuu in the exam, even though he couldn't pinpoint the source, he suspected that powerful cloaked lad from earlier that silenced the entire room with his aura alone was the purpose of his tenant's rather bloodlust-like attitude as of late…

"Zaku, what was that!? Why didn't you protect us while you had the chance! You saw him before I did; you could have prevented my defeat, and these new damn scars on me… You are absolutely worthless, almost as terribly useless as Kin, here. You two should be beyond dignified at how much Orochimaru-sama trusted us, and we failed. What do you think he thinks of us now? What do you think!?" shouted Dosu at his team mates, furious with the fiasco in the forest, they had just barely made it before nightfall. They stood in their room with the door closed, trying not to alert others who may be eavesdropping, but Dosu was nowhere near finished. "Kin, your genjutsu could have prevented all of this. Why didn't you use it? What do you think we were trained for all that time for? To NOT use our abilities? Konoha trash defeated us, are you proud of this? You sicken me." A thud was heard along with a female's whimper, a punch perhaps. "You two… you know what Orochimaru-sama wants. We will not fail him again. We will kill Sasuke Uchiha, or die trying, damn it. We have to finish our task before the finals, you know…" trailed off the mummified Dosu character. Quieted whispers were heard from inside the room, a dark figure outside the doorway listening intently to the whole conversation. Without being able to hear another word, Naruto left the door silently, not wanting to alert his targets to his presence. Now he really had to find the Hokage. He continued climbing flights of stairs, upwards…

The Hokage stood before the jounin audience upstairs, consisting of only the Konoha ninja, as the foreign ninja were currently being kept in their private rooms. A few ANBU were with him, along with Anko. He just finished explaining the direness of the situation, about how Orochimaru is planning something. Suddenly one of the ANBU standing near him tensed and whispered into the Hokage's ear, stopping what he was saying to the austere jounin, solemn with the knowledge that they would probably have to face a ninja that could easily kill them all. The Hokage motioned as his ANBU immediately moved to intercept whatever eavesdropper may have been outside the door to the room. His ANBU were so skilled, able to detect even a silenced person outside of the room, due to the person being unable to mask their chakra signature… the Hokage didn't prepare for any fight, knowing this was a rookie mistake, and probably a genin, but the jounin sensei in the room stood from their places and drew their weapons, just in case, as they were all surprised to see Naruto escorted in. "Naruto, my boy… it seems we may have heard more than we needed, eh?" asked the Hokage, knowingly, understandingly, but with a tone that displayed a bit of expectance. "I think, Jiji, that it is I who you need to see now…" A few jounin around the room raised their eyebrows, wondering what a genin, even a prodigious one, would know about the situation. "I intercepted Orochimaru in the forest and overheard about a plan involving him." The room was silent, and the Hokage's bleak visage grew grimmer, but pleased that his pupil had the skill to relay this directly to him.

"Well, Naruto let us know. You've overheard quite a bit of our situation, apparently. You know we know only that Orochimaru is potentially impersonating the Grass team, and Anko's mark has been hurting a bit more as of late, as we all know that means Orochimaru is nearby… Now what is it you know that we do not? How exactly did you engage him? Was it him, without a doubt?"

"Hokage-sama," began Naruto with a grim tone, no different than usual, really. "Team seven was participating in the exam when a single grass ninja attacked us, summoning a large violet snake to kill us, but it was exterminated by my hand." The jounin and even an ANBU gasped lightly, not ever hearing of a genin being able to destroy one of Orochimaru's pets, much less a summoned snake. "During the engagement with the actual ninja, part of his face sloughed off, revealing it was a dead skin mask as I anticipated from the scent. He was a pale man, golden eyes with slit pupils, purple makeup, long black hair, and sounds quite similar to the snake Sannin's portrayal. I engaged him in melee combat, and used my chakra bullet on him once, but he dodged it easily. He was much faster than any previous opponent I have faced… he easily made short work of me. He used some sort of sealing jutsu on my stomach, which since then has severely impacted my skills, but seems to have… cleared my head a bit, so to speak. I was out cold from whatever seal he used, and woke up a day later to save my team from the sound team, while Sasuke was unconscious and Sakura was incapacitated. Sasuke was apparently given a different seal by Orochimaru as well, from a bite." Anko blanched at this, and Kakashi tensed, feeling a few eyes on him. "And just a few minutes ago, looking for Konoha jounin, I stumbled upon a shouting match in the sound ninja room, which I felt compelled to eavesdrop on. They were given a mission by Orochimaru directly, they were to kill Sasuke. And this suggests that Orochimaru has a strong connection to Otogakure…" The jounin were amazed at how this genin's information gathering was so resound, especially compared to the little they knew. Immediately however, wasting no time, the Hokage turned to Kakashi and inquired seriously, "Kakashi, did you know of this? Have you seen Sasuke's mark? Is it…" Kakashi sighed. "Yes, Hokage-sama, I re-sealed it, using the same counter-seal you use on Anko, and it's a new kind I've never seen before," explained the white-haired man. Anko sighed, knowing how this would turn out badly… "Naruto, I thank you for relaying this information to us, truly. I have some other things to discuss with you momentarily, would you wait a moment, my boy?" Naruto nodded and stepped just outside the room with one ANBU to wait patiently, slowly nursing his bleeding face beneath his scarf as best he could; the ANBU watched not knowing what the boy was doing. Naruto hated speaking, but at times it was a necessary pain…

Naruto was later alone in the room with the Hokage, a couple ANBU, and Inoichi Yamanaka, the other jounin having already left to do their duties. "Naruto, I want you to tell me exactly what you experienced when Orochimaru produced the counter-seal. Tell me exactly how you feel different, and let me see your new seal," the Hokage wasted no time in ordering, Naruto lifting his shirt, showing the basic seal with a new, intricate five-point seal over it. "Jiji, I… when he hit me with this jutsu, I instantly blacked out from the pain, and fell several hundreds of feet from the tree. When I awoke, I felt so much… weaker than normal, as if I've not slept for days, but my mind seems clear, as if I was enshrouded before the seal. I feel exposed, Jiji..." explained Naruto. "Naruto," Inoichi began, "how exactly do you feel 'clear' now?" The Hokage stayed quiet, prodding and studying the seal, but listening intently. "I can't explain it, Inoichi-san. It's as if I was slightly drunk without knowing it for the longest time, and now everything feels more vivid, more sharp, but… Not as sharp. It's hard to explain…" The older blonde nodded to Sarutobi who sighed. "Well, my boy, it seems that this seal did, in fact, repress much of your power… Naruto, it's time to tell you the truth…" The boy looked up questioningly. "You know the legend of the Kyuubi, the great nine-tailed demon fox that nearly destroyed our village?" The boy nodded. "Well, being unable to defeat it, the Yondaime did the only thing he could possibly do to cease its attack—he sealed it into a child. A baby, a newborn to be precise, had to be used to seal the fox away… and that child was you, Naruto…" Sarutobi trailed off, watching the boy's exposed features crease slightly, whether in confusion, distress, or anger he could not know. "And as of the last few years, Inoichi here has been studying you from what we could gleam, and we both have made the same hypothesis: the demon fox inside of you is slowly corrupting you. The blanket that you couldn't detect until your demonic powers were sealed was that beast's influence and power surging through you. Without it, you are more normal, less aggressive from what we think, but less powerful than what you may be accustomed to, and you most likely would heal less quickly." Naruto stared blankly; neither of the two elder ninja talking to him knew what he thought at this point. "Naruto, I'm going to offer this, and it is your choice," Sarutobi began, and Naruto looked him dead in the eye with his own cold gaze. "I can unseal this counter-seal, giving your powers and strengths back, but of course you would be altered by the beast again. Or you can choose to accept yourself as a human and learn to live and excel in your limitations." Inoichi gazed quietly, hoping that what little humanity the boy may have had left would realize the ethical option…

"I want it back, Jiji. It's the only way to make you proud; I am not strong enough without it."

The Hokage, god amongst men, shed a single unseen tear, yet again, for the same child. Inoichi sighed inwardly, knowing this choice was Naruto's alone, and that it would lead the boy to ruin, as power oft does.

"Very well, my boy. Know that I am proud of you no matter what choices you make, and that I am always here for you should you need anything, as is Inoichi. Please hold still, Naruto," Sarutobi said lowly, preparing a rather complicated chain of hand seals before five seals appeared over his hand that he slammed into the recently acquired seal from Orochimaru. Naruto screamed as Inoichi and the ANBU watched and waited. After only a blindingly agonizing moment of torture, Naruto stopped, the seal released, and something was immediately noted to be different. His very aura had changed instantly, very different than he was before the encounter with Orochimaru. It was darker, more stifling, more powerful, his eyes now a dull crimson stared at the ninja around him with an expression akin to a hunter to its prey… "Thank you, Hokage-_sama_," Naruto stressed rather disrespectfully, much different than normally. The men looked shocked at this disrespectful outburst from the boy, knowing this wasn't him, but the beast within him. Something had happened, something worsened in the boy, although to him, he would say something strengthened. "I… must retire. I feel fatigued yet again. Jiji, I will make you proud in the final exam," he said before departing quickly, the demonic stifling presence slowly drifting away. The Hokage gasped as it left entirely, Inoichi still silenced with shock, stared at the Hokage. "Hokage-sama… what have we unleashed?"

Untrue to his word, Naruto headed straight for the training room in the tower, as it was still a day away from the end of the exam, and the sun had already risen, preventing him from sleeping anyway. With his powers regained, and slightly even more vivid than he realized, he didn't even feel a bit tired. He felt more empowered than ever before, and Naruto wished to test this against some training dummies.

Only hours later, other genin began pouring into the training room immediately and simultaneously, expecting it to be empty, but what they were greeted with instead of the clean and kempt training room from only a few hours ago was a torn and demolished room, with a panting Naruto still in it clad in minimal gear aggressively attacking a wooden post, which looked ready to topple like the others had. The genin were awed to say the least, leaving the room intact only a few hours prior. "Naruto, what the hell did you do, you idiot!? This room was for all of us, not your personal demolition derby!" shouted a rather annoyed Kiba at Naruto's negligence of the public training room. Naruto was facing away from them while attacking the post, but stopped as one last swipe sent it flying toward the wall, shattering it. It was silent for but a moment before he turned slowly, the genin gasping as they saw an eerie dull crimson glow from his eyes, which were now a dull crimson instead of icy blue. "Care to repeat that, Kiba?" he questioned with a rasp, the genin shivered at his voice which belayed something darker. They couldn't shake the feeling of dread and paranoia. Hinata was nearly ready to pass out, along with some weaker looking Suna and Ame ninja, who were all shivering with fear. Naruto scoffed and walked past all of them slowly, the tension rising as even Kiba silenced himself. "You aren't worth the time, _idiot_," Naruto whispered, before disappearing from view, the oppressive aura dispersing.

It had been hours, nearly midafternoon at this point, and Naruto hungered, after not eating for a few days' time. He made quickly for team seven's room, hoping his "team" wasn't there so he could feast in privacy. Without even having his chakra field active, he could sense nearly as well as he could with it activated, he could feel the very presences of the weak trash around him, pacing back and forth in their rooms, or doing other… unmentionable things, in one case that made Naruto want to hurl from the oppressive musk his sensitive nostrils sensed from outside the room. He continued to his room where, gladly, no annoyances were present. He tore into the room and slammed the door shut, not knowing why he was being as aggressive as of late, but not caring in the least. In the food compartment of their room, he found loads of delicious food, albeit slightly stale from last night when Sakura must have eaten last. He ate it quickly, absolutely famished from his tribulations as of late. Not five minutes later, all the food, which was a rather respectable amount of food, was eaten by the now contented Naruto. Not a moment too soon, either, as he felt the presences of his annoying team mates fast approaching, one's aura seemingly pained, the other annoyed. He quickly donned his mask that he had to temporarily discard while eating, before facing the now opening door to face his team mates.

"Naruto, what did you do to the training room? All of the other genin are pissed at us now because of you-" Sakura began her abhorrent ranting before Naruto uncharacteristically silenced her with words rather than a motion. "Sakura, shut up." Both she and Sasuke looked taken aback, never hearing Naruto say that before, nor knowing him to say anything if actions or motions could be used. "Naruto, what has gotten into you? You're acting different…" Sasuke inquired slowly, as to not raise the ire of their rather hostile associate. "Sasuke, nothing is wrong with me, nothing more than is wrong with you," he said coldly. This ended the "conversation" as Naruto walked past them to walk around the tower. He simply spent his time tracking people stealthily down the hallways, running into people, acting so much more volatile that by the time Naruto retired that night, nearly all the genin were frightened out of their mind, thinking some bastard Konoha ninja would slay them in their sleep without mercy.

It was early the next morn when a light siren wailed to wake up all the genin, signaling the end of the second exam, before a radio buzzed on, ordering all genin to the entrance hall downstairs with their teams. Without a moment to spare, even for breakfast for poor, starving Sakura, they made haste toward the hall, Naruto just itching for a fight, hoping he would get one. Once all teams were assembled in the dreary, stifling hall, the Hokage stepped up to explain how only the teams with all three members were allowed to stay, and any who weren't ready to continue onward could leave voluntarily, not endangering their team's chances. Kabuto quit, surprisingly, but left Naruto totally unfazed. Then the Hokage went to explain about how these exams were not only to prove one's strength, but were to cement allied relationships with other countries by making new friends. Many genin scoffed, slightly annoying the Hokage. The Hokage then called up a chunin, Genma, to explain what was to happen next.

"Alright guys, it seems due to the relative strength of the teams this year, or the lack of any good challenges," he coughed while Anko off to the side seemed a bit irked, "too many genin have made it this far. As you all know, nobles and important figures from around the world will arrive to see the strength of the prodigies competing this year, so to keep the tournament short, sweet, and to the point, we've decided to have preliminaries to lessen the amount of fights in the true finals." Many genin gasped, groaned, or otherwise protested. "Yes, and it is here in this room where the matches will be fought. When I call your names, step onto the arena, as for everyone else, join your sensei along the spectator booths. First match is… Naruto Uzumaki versus Kiba Inuzuka. Everyone else, clear the arena. We're keeping this clean, guys, when I say stop the match and when I call a winner, you WILL stop the match, or you will forfeit your spot in the competition. If killing is the only means of victory, then so be it, but know that you will not be forfeited for killing your enemy unless I already call off the match. Do you understand?" Naruto and Kiba nodded as they were the last standing on the battleground. "Well then, fight!" Genma jumped out of the way to not interfere in the battle as Kiba and his partner dog Akamaru entered a taijutsu stance to combat the cloaked boy who chuckled lightly.

"What are you laughing at, Naruto? Too scared to forfeit?" Kiba smirked as he taunted, causing the dark chuckling to increase slightly. Naruto died down and quieted as Kiba and Akamaru rushed towards him. Naruto did not hesitate and dodged the first attack, before hopping and rolling over Kiba as he made for a low attack, Naruto not having raised his hands yet. "What the… damn you Naruto! Fang Passing Fang!" Kiba and Akamaru blurred into tornados of raw power as they charged towards Naruto who simply dodged again, annoyed. Before Kiba and Akamaru could react, the place where Naruto was standing exploded, sending both flying from such a basic trap. "Akamaru, we can't let him catch us off guard again!" They charged again with their Fang technique, not fazing Naruto in the least. Before they impacted him, Naruto threw down a smoke bomb and shrouded himself from view, leaving Kiba and Akamaru outside the smoke cloud, wondering where he would exit from. Without warning, a loud boom echoed, and Akamaru was sent flying into the wall of the arena, causing spectators to gasp.

"What just happened?" Kurenai questioned, worried for her student while looking at Kakashi for answers. The grey-haired man shrugged and responded: "I don't know Kurenai. I can't see through smoke," at which the female ninja scoffed, and returned her attention downward, worried along with her team for Kiba.

"Sasuke, did you see that? What did he do…?" Sakura asked, while Sasuke stared, his mouth open slightly in awe, not knowing how to answer.

Akamaru barely had time to pick himself up before Naruto charged out of the cloud of smoke opposite of Kiba, so that Kiba could not see him, and beat down the poor ninja dog mercilessly, causing loud whimpers to echo before Kiba rushed through the smoke at Naruto, screaming for his partner. Naruto effortlessly chucked the severely wounded dog at Kiba, who caught him and landed roughly to keep the dog safe from further harm, and laid him down on the floor to rest momentarily as Kiba returned his full, undivided attention toward his enemy. He screamed as he rushed the cloaked boy, who didn't move to dodge. Kurenai looked worried, and even Kakashi and Guy and Asuma watched slightly bothered, not knowing what would happen. In a flash, it ended. Before Kiba could strike, Naruto caught the boy by his neck and lifted him off the ground. Kiba struggled in the literal iron grip of the metal gauntlet, blood slightly dripping from his neck where the claws rent at his flesh. He choked, slowly, struggling to get free and defeat this force, sadly even he knew he had no chance. Naruto treated him as a puppet and disposed of his partner in less than two minutes. He was sure to be doomed. He continued to struggle when he heard his sensei scream for him to forfeit.

Kurenai watched as Naruto picked the boy up, not even struggling a bit to lift him, and watched worriedly as blood dripped slightly. Then she saw the other clawed gauntlet reared back, ready to disembowel the boy who could not see it, as his face was held upward by the other fist of Naruto. She screamed for him to forfeit before it was too late.

"Sensei," Kiba gasped, barely able to breath, "I can take him on, I won't forfeit-" Kiba was cut off as Naruto heard all he needed to hear, he plunged his free hand into the abdomen of Kiba, who screamed loudly before Naruto released his grip on Kiba's neck, only keeping the dog boy above ground by the hand in his abdomen. The spectators, particularly the Konoha ninja, gasped loudly, and Ino screamed for her friend's life. The Hokage watched with horror as his grandson-like figure coldly murdered his fellow Konoha ninja and academy graduate. Inoichi, too, watched with shock, knowing full and well this was due to the Kyuubi's stronger influence as of late. Anko, although she was used to seeing death, watched sickeningly as one man killed his ally, no better than a wild animal.

Naruto chucked the body before Genma could call the match, watching with sick glee as the limp body of Kiba cracked awkwardly loud against the wall of the arena, leaving a massive splatter of blood, before slumping to the ground with a fist-sized hole in his chest, his eyes open and glazed with the cold embrace of death. Only a moment later, after a brief period of silence, Naruto walked out of the arena, to the spectator's area, where people shuffled out of his way so he could stand alone, nobody near him, as he dripped fresh blood from his body that wasn't his own. Genma needed not call for anyone; medics appeared in a moment of their own volition moments later to take the corpse and the still-living, but unconscious dog. "Winner… The winner is Naruto. Next is…"

Naruto didn't even pay attention. He was so adrenalized from the rush of battle and blood he could not focus, he merely basked in the scent and feel of his opponent's blood, something he'd never done before, but with the feeling he was getting, he surely would not mind doing it again. Nearby, Kakashi shivered, not seeing such merciless killing of allies since the Uchiha massacre. The arena was dead silent except for the sounds of the combatants.

Gaara watched with glee, at the first match, not feeling so excited for a battle in so long. His mother wanted to come out and play with this Naruto boy now, but he had to wait for the opportune moment…

"Well, it seems you all have passed with flying colors, and it seems you are all ready for the finals," Genma began explaining after all matches had finished. Notables among the survivors of the preliminaries included Gaara, Sasuke, Neji, and a few others. Genma continued after a short pause, "The finals will commence in a month's time, at the grand arena in the Konoha main district. Until then, you are all allowed to train and prepare for your opponents in the finals, and until then, we all wish you luck."

The genin had returned to their sensei for the most part, and their teams, discussing what could be done to prepare. Naruto left his team and Kakashi in his overbearing wake, returning to the forest of death, ready to route through it at top speed and return to his humble abode to prepare alone for his trial.

It was later the same day, after the genin potentials had left the forest and returned to their homes, or in a few cases temporary living quarters, to rest after the totally exhausting tests within the last few days. Well, in most cases, that is. A ghostly figure was awake, and quite active, weaving through the trees in the training grounds late this night, training of course. It was through a crystal orb that this was seen in the Hokage's rather dark office, as Sarutobi sat, hatless and distraught, among a gathering of quite a few people. He sighs, thinking about the counter seal he applied to Naruto, knowing that it was his fault Naruto lost control and thus led to this situation. Before him was a fuming group of Inuzuka, begging for the boy's blood. And it was at the forefront of this throng that the most voracious and powerful leader of the Inuzuka stood, Tsume Inuzuka, the mother of the recently deceased Kiba.

"Hokage-sama, you know this is madness! That bastard child killed my only son, and you won't take action? You know he made the choice to do that, he could've just as easily incapacitated Kiba otherwise! And now my son is dead because of that waste of space…"

"Tsume, I know what Naruto did was absolutely uncalled for! But according to the parameters of this exam, and the waivers they signed, they knew they could have died! Those were the risks when Kiba entered, and there was as good a chance as any that he would've died by another's hand if not Naruto's!" the Hokage argued, defending his rules, his examinee, and his student.

"Hokage… sama…" Tsume growled, "I will exact a terrible and utterly inescapable vengeance upon that child if you do not fix this situation in a way that satisfies me. Keep in mind…" Tsume continued threateningly, "I am the head of an entire clan, and he's just one boy. Keep that in mind when you make your choice, Hokage-sama…" Tsume growled one final time and stormed out of the room, snarling Inuzuka and ninja-dogs following her.

The Hokage sighed, knowing that Naruto was putting him in the most difficult of places, between rocks and hard places. It was then that the Hokage did what he vowed never to do. He broke out the sake he kept in his lowest drawer in his desk and drank, unsparingly. Minutes after the heated affair, he felt a presence at his window behind him. Years of training immediately left his senses screaming at him to attack, but he knew this presence felt familiar, and unaggressive, but powerful and wise. "Jiraiya, you've arrived finally." An old man, although younger than the Hokage, was sitting at the window, wearing an odd green and red suit with long white hair.

"Yes, sensei…" Jiraiya started, but faltered in the midst of beginning his next sentence. "Sensei, I've heard about what Naruto did. What's happened to him over the years? What exactly caused this? I looked over Minato's seal, it was perfected. There's no reason he should be acting out so vehemently… without reason."

The Hokage sighed and drank again. "Jiraiya, you've been gone for a long, long while… Things have changed much since you've left, and not exactly for the better. I'm sure you heard through the grapevine about the…" Sarutobi paused momentarily and drank again before continuing, "Orochimaru incident." At the mention of Orochimaru, Jiraya growled. "I've heard what I needed to. My spies didn't know about this, I only learned once I returned that he has successfully infiltrated the village. What have you done about this sensei?" The Hokage finished off his bottle of liquor before standing and walking to the window next to his aged pupil. "Jiraiya, there is nothing I could do at the moment and you know that. We don't know who his allies are, if any, yet. Arresting anyone at this point would be… political suicide, at best. And although we have somewhat reliable information regarding his possible connection to the village of Sound, we aren't positive. Doing anything, as I said, is a very bad move with our allies' connections as tense as they already are." Jiraiya understood, but persisted nonetheless. "Then what will you do? You know he's after high-level targets, such as the apparent heir to the Uchiha throne. And he may as well be here after you and me, and possibly the Kazekage." The Hokage turned a tired eye towards his pupil. "And it is going to be when we discover his motives and his next move that we make ours. We are busy preparing a counter-attack; all Jounin and ANBU are prepared for the worst, at any moment."

They both turned toward the city, the perfect portrait of a good life, they watched for a few moments the flickering lights of night life, the occasional crowd of people, the bustle of restaurants and bars. The sky was a bit dark this night, although the clouds were coming and going, silhouetting buildings in pale light before the light dispersed momentarily.

"Sensei, you never told me about Naruto."

The Hokage sighed again. "Jiraiya, you know as well as I what's happened to Naruto, what's happened to every Jinchuriki. You know what these people have done to the boy." Jiraiya's eyes seemed to flicker with anger before he spitefully responded. "And you let it be so?" The Hokage quickly retorted with a rebuttal. You know I didn't. I did what I could for him, but for the most part, you know what happened to him would have happened inevitably. You know that…" Jiraiya again responded spitefully. "You didn't do enough, apparently. I would risk title, life, and limb for the boy, whereas you apparently didn't." The Hokage sighed again. "Jiraiya, you know you old fool that as Hokage-" he was interrupted by Jiraiya's interruption, less spiteful and more humble. "I know, sensei, I know…"

"Just… tell me what happened, sensei. Tell me what happened to him. Tell me why he did that to the Inuzuka boy."

"Jiraiya, he's been tortured over the course of his young life. He's gone through physically and mentally traumatic experiences, but has always returned, ready to do what needs to be done to the best of his abilities. He always heals from every wound, even if they leave scars. You and I know this isn't natural; it's either him repressing himself, keeping his darkest emotions at bay… Or himself being repressed by the Kyuubi. He's not right, Jiraiya, and it pains me to say it. I've had Inoichi helping me with Naruto's psyche for a while now, but even then… I think Naruto has only become worse with time. Not to mention Naruto faced Orochimaru a few days ago, fought him, and survived."

Jiraiya perked up, eyes widened in disbelief.

"Exactly my response, Jiraiya… Although during that entanglement, Naruto was given an inhibitor seal by Orochimaru, a seal that drastically reduced Naruto's powers given by the Kyuubi. I thought this was an improvement, but Naruto told me how weak he felt, how open and vulnerable. I gave him a choice, to live with this inhibitor or to take it off and regain his powers." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed slightly, knowing the answer he feared the most. "He chose power, Jiraiya. He said he chose power because it was the only way to make me proud, that it was the only way he could be strong." The Hokage exhaled deeply, a pressure like no other he bore on his shoulders, alone. "He had since become more aggressive than usual, and more powerful. It was during the preliminaries where he murdered Kiba Inuzuka in cold blood, due to the unsealing of the inhibitor. It was overly violent, as well, not a clean, precise kill, but a powerful, messy massacre. Even after his opponent was dead, he threw the boy clear across the arena into a stone wall, and shattered it, Jiraiya… What-what have I done?"

Jiraiya's face was a strange contortion of anger and pity, but a frown nonetheless. "I think that you fucked up, sensei, and that's all. You shouldn't have offered that unsealing to Naruto. Now we have a possibly demon-influenced homicidal maniac, who is possibly invincible, and he's being allowed to kill as a living. What did you do sensei? You created a mess of things. It may not have been intentional, mind you, and I don't blame you for it all, but you fucked up Minato's only prodigy, who's now possibly going to be decommissioned at the age of fourteen or killed. I heard those Inuzuka. They want his blood, and that was because you unsealed him. That was possibly the only chance we would ever have to bring him back from the precipice of madness, but instead, you allowed him to have his powers back, the one thing you should have ever refused him."

The Hokage was silent, staring into the shadowy outlines of the Hokage monument, a cliff that surrounded the north part of the village with the four faces of the four Kage etched into the stone. Jiraiya knew he was looking at Minato's blank, stone visage.

"Sensei, I'm not going to let him go. I'm not going to let Orochimaru have a chance to kill him again, and I won't give the Inuzuka the opportunity. His life is already going off course, so what we do now won't change his probable future, and all we can do is help him. I'm going to give him his gifts from his father. I'm going to give him his legacy. Tell Kakashi that he won't have to train Naruto for the finals, because I am personally going to see to it that the boy will not fail any confrontation, ever."

"Jiraiya, Kakashi isn't even going to train him. He was going to train Sasuke in the art of the Sharingan, since he only recently acquired it. And Sasuke needs to learn to control that new seal from Orochimaru."

"Yes, regarding that sensei…" Jiraiya muttered, "You know what he wants. You know why he wants Sasuke… You know we have to keep an eye on him."

"Of course, Jiraiya, I have it covered. ANBU will watch the boy day and night, nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to see Sasuke Uchiha without me knowing. It simply bewilders me why Orochimaru would send the Sound team to kill Sasuke if he wants Sasuke alive…"

"That's simple, sensei. Orochimaru wants to know firsthand how powerful Sasuke is by engaging him in a fight against his most powerful genin, seems like something Orochimaru would do, anyway, just an inference. In any case, I'm off, now. I'll talk to Naruto in the morning, I need to rest from my travel, and I'm sure you need to rest as well. I'll let you know how Naruto is doing."

Jiraiya left on a rather aggressive but understanding tone, jumping from the window sill to a nearby building before disappearing from sight in the gloom of night. The Hokage stood silently at the window only for a moment before returning to his desk. He put his crystal orb away, and retired to his home for the night. However, far away from the Hokage's tower, a presence felt his presence disperse. Naruto's "suggestive" thoughts in the back of his head told him that he was no longer being observed, and so he decided to do some reconnaissance on some of his potential enemies, now that nobody was watching. Naruto stopped his training for the night, finished beating trees to pulp when he donned his cloak and took off towards town. He was outside the village walls training, so when he arrived at the closest part of town, he simply jumped over the village wall and landed on a civilian roof, not alerting the patrolling Jounin and Chunin on the wall to his "infiltration". He advanced slowly toward the visitors' residency area, not alerting the expert patrols to his presence, which was rather odd considering security was increased for the exam. Naruto didn't notice that it wasn't their lack of skill that kept him hidden, but an actual subconscious increase in his own.

It was the first building he arrived at in the foreign quarter of the village, the first presence he could practically smell was the Sound team, the ones that he fought off in the forest after his inhibitor seal was so graciously applied by a certain Snake. Naruto used his most basic abilities, wall climbing and transformation jutsu, to blend in with the building itself while residing outside on the balcony, only to hear another whispered argument between the Sound team's members, although with his newly regained sense of hearing, he was able to eavesdrop clearly unlike the last time. He chuckled inwardly and grinned slightly under his mask, thinking to himself how easy these fools were to track and scout. "Dosu, are you insane! Did you see that boy's powers? There's no possible way we can…" Dosu interrupted angrily. "Don't you dare say it! Otokage-sama has entrusted us with this mission to destroy the Uchiha, and I don't care what demons the Sharingan-wielder has on his team, we will complete or die trying to complete our assignment from Orochimaru-sama." The girl in the group was silent. "Listen, demon, monster, whatever hellish allies this guy has, it is still as vulnerable to my sound gauntlet as any other being. We will take care of him for our Otokage, Orochimaru-sama. We will prove to him that we are and will always be superior to any of his loyal servants. We will, I guarantee it." Naruto listened on for a while more before leaving, hearing only minor talk of strategy and tactics of general one-on-one combat. He now knew what he suspected before but could not prove, that the leader of the Sound team, and the leader of the village of Sound itself was no other than Orochimaru. Naruto silently left to go to another nearby building.

He arrived, feeling the presence of a powerful contestant he recognized all too well. This boy was outside on his balcony, so Naruto had to observe from a neighboring rooftop, listening intently, and remaining unseen by the sand genin who had power over the sands, the redhead he knew to be named "Gaara." He watched, and he could see the slight trembling of the boy. He listened closely, beyond any sounds of the night, and heard the heart beating quickly within his prey. He could hear the slightly quick breathing of him, as well. He could practically smell both the excitement and the fear on the sand genin, along with adrenaline and sweat, though from fear or excitement Naruto could not tell. He remembered being confused as well during the preliminaries when the boy exhibited similar behaviors and smells. Naruto inferred that he had a rather joyful disposition toward battle, and that he could probably sense the closeness of Naruto's own demon. He remembered how Gaara was acting tense when he was eavesdropping last time, in the Forbidden Forest tower. It was while remembering what he knew of the boy that he noticed Gaara's blonde sister Temari walked out and joined him. "Gaara, what has gotten in to you? You've never acted like this before… Please, tell me what's wrong brother, and I will help if I can…" Gaara turned his angry eyes towards her, and although he looked like he would respond with nothing but hatred, his voice was calm. "Temari… There is a power at work here greater than mine." Temari's eyes widened. "Gaara, you're too powerful! You can't be scared of anything when we-" Gaara stopped her with a glare. "I think it's the cloaked boy… Uzumaki. I think it's him that has powers that exceed my own. It is him that will stop me, I can feel it." Naruto listened closely, not wanting to miss a single detail. "Temari, the boy is more powerful than me. Mother fears him, but will not allow the thrill of the fight to wither away to fear. But I… I fear him." Naruto grinned wickedly, ever so slightly. Temari opened her mouth to ask more but Gaara silenced her with another look before retreating to his room for the night, Temari stayed out for a bit longer, looking at where Naruto was hidden, although she didn't know he was there, surely. "Gaara… Only you can save us," she whispered to herself before retreating inside as well. Naruto wondered what she meant, but left, knowing he wouldn't glean any more information this night.

It is on the way to his "humble abode" when he remembered another possible threat to his power: his own team mate, Sasuke. He knew the Uchiha heir had skill and power, and the ability if not the experience required to defeat him. He decided to make one final detour, towards the Uchiha compound. Upon arriving, he clearly noticed four or five ANBU stationed about the compound, hidden from normal view, but not Naruto's advanced senses. Naruto expanded his field so that he could clearly detect where each of the ANBU were. With great success, he stole into the compound, towards Sasuke, who he could sense with his ability as well. The boy was moving, Naruto thought he was awakened and reading or some such. However, when he arrived, he realized his mistake, Sasuke was throwing a fit in some sort of nightmare, something Naruto found to be quite odd. He knew he would learn nothing of his team mate this night and went to leave, however as he stood, he remembered he didn't have his transformation jutsu active, leaving his cast shadow on the wall of the bedroom where Sasuke was sleeping, the moon having appeared behind him within the last minute or so. He noticed Sasuke stir before leaping away silently, not wanting Sasuke to realize Naruto was watching him.

Sasuke on the other hand was dreaming terrible dreams about his past, about his brother and family. He woke up, frightened, pained, exhausted; it was nearly four a.m. in the morning. Only after panting for a few seconds, he rolled over to get some more rest, only to see in his half-sleeping stupor a ghostly shadow emblazoned upon his bedroom wall before disappearing. Sasuke jolted up and looked about his room, noticing the shadows from a nearby building being cast into his room, and he looked up expecting to see the ghost standing before the moon, but he saw naught but lunar light.

Naruto has had enough for one night, not having slept very well for a couple of days. Without more recourse, Naruto trekked back to his mangy apartment, before falling asleep on his substandard bed, less than two hours before the sun's first light. He was absolutely exhausted having not slept and eaten but training and sneaking for more than twenty four hours. He fell asleep, nearly immediately, not even taking off his satchel or armor or cloak. That night, or morning really, Naruto experienced strange sleep. As opposed to nightmares and horrific visions that haunt his sleep, especially since Wave, he had a strange blackness, absence of any subconscious thought or vision. He did hear dark whispers throughout his sleep though. Incoherent, and if multiple people were whispering, just so vaguely that Naruto could barely hear them. Naruto twisted and turned in his sleep, not understanding the meaning of his strange dreaming, or lack thereof. One of the whispers quickly ascended in decibel, and became louder and louder, the voice nearly screaming incoherently until- Naruto jumped up from his sleep as a rapt series of knocks sounded from his front door, which was locked. Naruto's pounding heart slowed, knowing the last phrase he caught in his dream was the one he didn't want to hear, but the only one he could coherently understand.

You are alone.

Naruto raised himself from his inadequate bed and made for the door, whose knocker had just begun knocking again. Naruto couldn't tell who it was, the presence did not seem familiar at all, although judging from the power he felt radiating from the person, and he knew he was in real trouble or someone was lost. He made sure his equipment was secured, just in case he needed to fly from this location at maximum speed, without hindrance. He carefully unlatched his locks before cracking open the door and seeing a widely smiling old man at his doorstep. "So, you're Naruto, I take it?"

A/N:  
>Like I said, I am not going to abandon the story. As repentance, I've created a chapter nearly twice as long as the previous ones. Initially, I wanted to continue writing, but I realized that this chapter is enough for now, it has good content. The rest of the chapter I was going to write will be adapted into the following chapter. But don't worry, everything will be taken care of, this story is not dead! Keep in mind, the next chapter will be shorter, so it will probably be out sooner, with a more intense cliffhanger than you could possibly imagine. But of course it won't be the end of the story.<p>

As always, the more critically responsive reviews I receive, the more motivation I have to write. Without motivation, I am slow and uninspired.

But as always, I truly, truly hope you enjoy the story. I am practicing my writing as much as possible, as I do eventually want to write my own original stories…

In any case, I'll try to post the next chapter with haste!

P.S.  
>Anyone who likes my style of storytelling and writing, I have a surprise that may be coming sooner than the next chapter of this. And that surprise is none other than a new story.<p>

I have a few awesome stories I would like to write, but I never like to work on more than two or three at a time, therefore, I still haven't chosen which I will choose to begin along with the fourth chapter of this. But I promise you all, that the story I will begin will be as epic as this, and it will contain shorter chapters for quicker updates.

Farewell, my faithful readers.


	4. Pursuit of Retribution

It is time for you all to enjoy the next installment of this story, and please, give me your reviews. I love them so much.

Chapter 4: Pursuit of Retribution

Naruto stared down the intruder who had just made himself known to the owner of the apparently unhappy owner of the home. "Well, Naruto, I am a friend of sorts of Sarutobi-sama, your Hokage. I was sent here by him and, well, I've a proposition for you, Naruto." The old man grinned widely, but beneath that, Naruto could easily detect a hint of anger, perhaps a bit of worry, maybe stemmed from fear? Naruto knew not, only that this invader was making his way into the small apartment, against Naruto's will. "Sorry, boy, you know I have important information and we can't afford to talk outside. Naruto glared at the man, and this man saw it, as Naruto wasn't wearing his hood and cloak like usual. "Well, as I was saying, I'm a friend of Sarutobi-sensei… I am Jiraiya, of the Sannin. And I came here to offer you training; powerful training that most ninja would die for, many would kill for to be trained by a Sannin. It isn't mandatory, but you should consider it a… favor."

Naruto glared inquisitively for a moment, barely detecting anything he expected from the man. He couldn't sense malice, or any trace of lying, only the truth. "Verify. Why do you want to train me? What have you to gain?" Jiraiya only continued to smirk in a strange manner, irking Naruto to no end, but answered after a moment of thought. "I want to train you because I knew your father, and you were very important to him. I know he would want me to train you, and teach you some of the most powerful jutsu of Konoha, known by few. But I cannot tell you who he is, so I must tell you to not ask. It is… there will be a time when you will know who your father is, but that time is not now."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow in confused thought, trying to piece together everything. "And you just thought you'd help me after thirteen years of nothing?"

Jiraiya blanched before gathering his thoughts and replying after a moment. "Naruto, as one of the highest ranking-ninja under Lord Hokage, I'm tasked with extremely important and vital tasks outside the city, and it includes managing our extensive spy network that spans over many countries and-" Naruto cut him off. "And my father who was obviously so important to you tasked you with taking care of me. I see which was more important."

Jiraiya groaned from frustration. "Naruto, you must know I have no choice. You've no idea what things could have happened in the last couple of decades had I not prevented them with my intelligence. It is vital. And most importantly, I had to ensure your safety. I know this place, this town isn't perfect but… it's your home. And you're safer here than you would be out there, exposed to many who would try to kill you outright."

Naruto glared at the elder ninja. "And what makes you think I'm safe here?"

Jiraiya replied quickly to diffuse Naruto's anger. "Sarutobi and Inoichi watch over you in ways you don't understand. I know they aren't always there for you, but we care for you. And I'm here to teach you powerful techniques so that you can better defend yourself, as a favor to your father, whom I and everyone else in this town owe dearly."

Naruto grunted before falling silent for a moment. He was pacing his small apartment, the Sannin's eyes boring into him intently. "I will be trained by you, Jiraiya-sensei."

"Good, Naruto," Jiraiya grinned, "You certainly won't regret this. Come with me, we will start immediately. I want to utilize our time together wisely."

Naruto gathered his remaining accoutrements from his humble abode before proceeding out the door and following Jiraiya through the town via rooftop. Jiraiya was running quickly, quick as most jounin, and yet he was amazed that Naruto could somewhat keep up with him. They left the town major and left the gate to the town before proceeding deep into the forests that surround the town. The lush green shrubbery and dense trees making it more difficult for speed, but Naruto and Jiraiya had little problems with that. After only a short time of running, no more than ten minutes, they arrived at a clearing near a small lake, where Jiraiya ceased his march and turned to meet Naruto who had arrived a mere few seconds later.

"Alright Naruto, from what sensei told me he has trained you in, and from judging your ability in the Chunin exams thus far, I've determined your general skill level. So what I'm going to do for the next few weeks is train you in new abilities and tactics rather than raw skill and conditioning, since you seem to have that done yourself. Fair enough?" Naruto nodded his agreement. "Good. So, as you can imagine, I've picked up quite a few techniques over the years working for Konoha. Many of them were the Hokage's secret techniques. Others were experimental. And others are lost knowledge that few know of. The first, and perhaps the most useful with retrospect to the broad range of uses, is summoning." Naruto raised his head slightly in curiosity. "Yes, I will teach you to summon the Konoha's signature beast, the Toad, which is also my specialty. It will be chakra dependent, so depending on what size summon beast you want, you have to input more or less chakra. And of course, the summoning seals… There's nothing to it of course, as long as you supply a small amount of blood for the summoning." Jiraiya stopped speaking to show Naruto a quick flurry of hand signs, no more than nine. Naruto nodded and copied the hand signs to Jiraiya's pleasure. "Good, Naruto. That's half the procedure you've learned. Now I'll show you what happens when you input a minimal amount of chakra…"

Jiraiya bit into his finger causing it to bleed before he continued with his hand signs before slamming his hands into the ground, and from a small puff of smoke appeared a small orange toad, clothed and equipped with a small sword. "Jiraiya! Nice to you, buddy. What's up? Who's this cloaked fellow?" Naruto was surprised; he'd never seen an animal speak before. Although the present couldn't see his face beneath his hood, Jiraiya seemed to know what Naruto was thinking. "Ha-ha, yes Naruto, summon creatures can speak our language, although some are more intelligent than others… Isn't that right, Gamakichi?" Jiraiya chuckled.

"Hey you old pervert, what exactly are you trying to imply?" the orange toad aptly named Gamakichi retorted indignantly.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm simply telling my pupil here how some of you are smarter than others. Nothing more," insisted the old man.

The frog grumbled before waving to Naruto and disappearing in a small cloud of smoke in the same manner in which it had arrived. Naruto was intrigued and immediately took off one of his clawed metal gauntlets to allow his pale hand to glow in the sunlight of the morning. He cut into his palm with his other gauntlet, letting out a gracious amount of blood that he watched for only a fraction of a moment before completing his seals and performing the jutsu. Jiraiya watched momentarily before telling the boy rather useful information. "Naruto, you won't be able to summon anything like that. You have to sign the summoning contract before—" and he was interrupted by something entirely unprecedented.

In the village foreign quarter, the place where all the international competitors were staying during the Chunin Exams, a young man of medium build, round glasses and silvery locks approached one of the buildings and entered carefully, not wanting to alert anyone nearby. It was common to see ninja in and around these buildings as most of the foreigners were ninja themselves, but it would seem suspicious if a Konoha ninja was entering the building alone and unannounced, especially considering the political tensions between the new countries and the powerful, older countries. Regardless, Kabuto advanced, he strode with purpose and ferocity that would not be unnoticed by passerby, had there been any others around. He particularly chose this point in time because he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he and his "friends" were alone in this building, which means they would be able to freely speak of important matters without interruption. After rising a few flights of stairs inside the dormitory building, he strode towards a single door from which voices were whispering hushed, as if the people within did not want anyone to know they were inside. Kabuto paused at the door and cleared his mind, shook himself to put himself at ease, before knocking and entering.

"What the— Oh, it's you Kabuto," started a nervous Dosu, the leader of the squad from Sound.

"Yes, it is I. I have come to tell you all of Orochimaru's new plan, one that will rock the foundations of this pitiful excuse of a ninja village, and that plan that requires your cooperation and assistance."

"Of course, Kabuto-san! We will gladly do anything for Orochimaru-sama, no matter the risks. We live to serve him, we would die for him."

"Well that's touching, really, because you'll be doing just that…" and with that, Kabuto chuckled.

The door slammed shut and locked, and for less than thirty seconds in that temporarily abandoned building, shouting and screams of pain were heard, before a pervasive silence fell upon the area once again.

An older silver-haired man knocked on a door on a street with no civilians. It was a nice, spacious street, plenty of walking room and well-kept buildings. Unfortunately this was the Uchiha-compound, or what that which was once a compound, now only the graveyard of the clan, abandoned save for one young person, whom had just opened the door for his visitor.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?"

"Greetings, Sasuke," started the one-eyed copycat, "I've good news for you. We, as in you and I, will be going on a training trip for the next few weeks. I'm going to train you in the art of the Sharingan and I will make sure you pass this exam with flying colors, my pupil. So prepare, we leave in half an hour."

"…I'll be ready in ten minutes, sensei."

Kakashi waited for Sasuke to gather his things, his clothes and weapons and jutsu scrolls of his clan's once prodigious techniques. He contemplated his and Sarutobi's decision to have him teach Sasuke while Jiraiya personally teaches Naruto. He did not have to worry about Sakura at this point in time, as she wasn't going to be included in the finals. Nonetheless, Kakashi was bewildered, as one would be in his position. Who would've guessed that this instructor would have to cheer for two separate contestants who would probably end up facing off against each other? He sighed, thinking of his old friend of the Uchiha clan, and again of his old friend, Naruto's father, knowing not what to do at this point in time other than to train his appointed apprentice in the Sharingan. Minutes later, true to his word, Sasuke appeared from his house, pack full and ready to go, a determined and grim look on his face. The boy knew of the grueling and hazardous training that was to come.

A week had passed since the end of the semi-finals, and Tsume Inuzuka was furious at the Hokage's apparent lack of any punishment whatsoever. In fact, from what she heard from her jounin compatriots, the bastard boy who destroyed her only son was being trained by the Sannin Jiraiya, which to her was disgraceful and disgusting. What kind of ruler appoints powerful warriors as teachers to monstrous beasts? The Inuzuka clan she led was in an uproar as well, as they knew the Jinchuriki of their great enemy the Kyuubi had killed one of their own, thirteen years after the beast was last seen, and they were aching for blood. Tsume, in fact, had to prevent Kiba's sister Hana from attacking the beast directly, as much as she would have loved to join her in the bloodbath that she was so sure would have followed. And sadly, nobody knew what to do with Akamaru, who was absolutely lethargic and unresponsive after the departure of his life-long friend and master, the dog was intelligent enough to understand that Kiba was dead. The Inuzuka wallowed in their anguish, but seethed in their vengeance they were sure would occur sooner rather than later.

It was after another week when Naruto was finally called to the Hokage's office again, except that when he arrived, the Hokage greeted him with Inoichi and Jiraiya, who sound-proofed the room and immediately began with their meeting, which Naruto was entirely confused about.

The Hokage started to speak before the other two, deciding to break the silence that had collected since Naruto's silent arrival. "Naruto, Jiraiya here tells me you've advanced quite a bit since our last encounter. I've been hearing very good reports about you and your growth, my boy, and needless to say, I'm intrigued, and assuming it was correct, I'm proud." He paused, noticing Naruto perked up just a bit at this complement, something that made the old man's heavy heart become just a bit lighter. After a light smile, he continued speaking toward the young ninja.

"I've heard that Jiraiya here taught you the Rasengan, and that you've already nearly completed it. I know it took many months of experimenting for the Yondaime to produce his first Rasengan, and the fact that you've nearly already completed it is simply… nothing short of outstanding, Naruto. I hope you finish it by the finals, I would love to show the world that our powerful techniques are not lost to time, and I would love to show them our village's worth through ninja like you. Your hard work and dedication have earned you something Naruto; I've already promoted you to Chunin." They never noticed Naruto's facial features harden under his hood when he was again reminded that his tormentor and the agent of his damning was the one who invented one of his most powerful techniques he recently learned.

The other two adults looked at the Hokage skeptically, they had not known Naruto would be promoted, but they said naught.

"However, this is informal at the moment, although I've already completed and signed the paperwork, it must wait until after the official test to be administered, but know that whatever the outcome you will be promoted, Naruto. Congratulations," he smiled sincerely but slightly sadly, hoping to again glean a visible and positive reaction. He wasn't disappointed when Naruto nodded his head and whispered thanks, a sincere one.

"Naruto, I've also heard something astonishing, you have created your own jutsu, and it seems something akin to your 'chakra bullet' we worked on what seems so long ago. Again, I hope to see it in action, I know it must be powerful based on what Jiraiya told me you've been doing to my forests," chuckled the old man lightly, although everyone could notice a hint of trepidation and anxiety. "However my boy, this brings us to the real reason I've brought you here today." Naruto looked up, questioningly.

"Naruto, your actions in the preliminaries have accosted us greatly. The Inuzuka clan is out for your blood. I've outright told them that due to the agreement Kiba and all the other genin signed that you would not and could not be punished, but I fear that this will not stop them. I must warn you Naruto, for your own sake, be careful what you do with your powers. You have extraordinary strength and potential, but don't allow it to consume you, because if you make enemies more oft than friend, you'll not be in a great position, so to speak. I want you to grow, but I want you to be careful how you grow, Naruto. I…" The Hokage paused briefly. "Just promise me Naruto, for my sake at least, that you will be wary of how you use your powers, remember that you carry a greater burden and responsibility than any other, you know what lies inside of you and what it is trying to do. I don't want to see it get the best of you, Naruto."

Naruto was stone, silent and cold.

Inoichi intervened after a brief moment of consideration and thought. "Naruto, I must say I, too, am impressed by your advancement, but I fear that our efforts aren't as effective as I would have hoped."

Naruto was confused. "What efforts?"

"We had hoped to give you the power you wanted without the Kyuubi's interference. It seems that it has regressed somewhat as of late, but I fear that it still has a hold over you that was unprecedented. This was not our intention. We did not mean to give the demon access to your base unconsciousness… And it seems your recent aggressive behaviors are a result of our mistake. I am sorry, Naruto, but it is possible we may have damaged the original connection between you and the demon that Orochimaru interfered with. We may have to… Well, we're not sure yet. Jiraiya may have to tamper with it to fix this issue and-"

"I have no issue, Yamanaka-san. I've nothing that needs a cure and I've nothing that needs to be fixed. I can perform my duty to the best possible extent and then some, and yet have total control over everything I do. There is nothing wrong with what's become of the seal, so I must respectfully ask you not to tamper with it. Sensei, I will see you tomorrow for our training. Hokage-sama…" Naruto trailed off, his face stinging slightly with his speech ripping at his facial scars. "I hope I make you as proud as you hope during the finals."

Naruto left, even against the protesting he heard. They did not know how Naruto would react. They did not know the beast subconsciously voices its opinions to the boy, not only saving himself, but by proxy the Kyuubi. The 'voice' in his head had told him, commanded him, and shouted at him not to let Inoichi near him again. It told him not to let anyone near his mind or his seal anymore. They couldn't be trusted. They were all jealous of his powers. They all had plans within plans involving him. They all used him, duped him, and fooled him. Naruto knew his Jiji was his friend, he knew Jiraiya was his instructor and that Inoichi was trying to help him, but these repeated subliminal messages tore at him without him even realizing it.

"Sensei, Naruto is changing for the worse. Even his physical features are changing from that demon's influence."

"What do you mean, Jiraiya?" questioned the Hokage worriedly.

"You wouldn't have noticed with his hood on, or with his gauntlets on. His nails are becoming more beast like. His hair is paler now, almost white. His eyes are changing from blue to red more often. His teeth are becoming sharper with each passing day. Sensei, I think what you unsealed was something that should have remained sealed…"

It was the morning that the finals would begin when Naruto awakened, a couple weeks after the meeting with the Hokage, fully rested and ready to compete and show his weak enemies how futile they were against this beast they despised. Naruto stood, stretched, and showered immediately, the cool water refreshing him in this rather hot and humid time of the year. He calmly gained consciousness in his bathroom as the chilly drops pelted him, before he finished and donned his normal attire. First the boy donned his black, slim-fitting cargo pants, recently stitched with an extra durable inner layer that not only held together better against fire, cold, water and sharpness, but felt light and glided over his skin with ease, making him even quieter and not hindering his mobility. He then tucked his cargo pants into knee high combat boots, secured with blackened leather fittings rather than laces or buckles, with rubber soles specially made to reduce sound. After this he donned his usual tightly fitting black long sleeved shirt, taking care to tuck the excess length into his pants before securing his harness on his body, which usually held his satchel and other larger paraphernalia that wouldn't fit into his cargo pants pockets, but could also hold body armor if necessary, although Naruto had none. He then secured his clawed gauntlets to both hands, securely attaching them to his satisfaction, so that no matter the course of events that would follow, they wouldn't be removed except by his own will. Over this he finally pulled on his tattered dark grey scarf, wrapped a couple of times around his face and draped over his shoulder which adequately covered his facial scarring, before placing his last bit of apparel on himself, his tattered hooded cloak to hide his pale hair and skin. He was satisfied after a few minutes of securing his clothing and harness and whatnot.

It was less than an hour before the finals officially began, although Naruto could sense easily the large amount of people gathered in the arena on the other side of town. With everything in place, the boy was geared for combat and left his home, taking the express route over the rooftops of the town, flying past crowds of people in the street below, excited for the day to come. Many merchants and peddlers had come from around the nations to sell their wares, fireworks, rare and unique foods, drink, relics of different sorts, and even foreign weapons, attracting mass crowds and buyers. But none of this stopped the boy. When he arrived at the arena, he noticed that the few contestants who had already arrived were shuffling into a center doorway; one which Naruto knew led into the center of the arena. He would sit and wait until they began, and until then he would meditate and calm himself.

Only a mere twenty minutes later, many of the citizens from far and near had settled into their seats, their conversations a dull roar throughout the massive combat arena stadium. Many ninja who were already disqualified from earlier in the exam were also waiting in the stands, curiously and anxiously waiting to see who would win and who would lose. The sensei of many young genin were there as well, wanting to witness first-hand the fruits of their student's labors. The clan heads were also gathered, prepared to witness the battles to come, although one clan wasn't cheering at all, the Inuzuka. The two Kage were gathered atop the stadium in the Hokage box, guarded by their most powerful ninja, simply as precaution. The contestants were waiting in the arena below, although two were late to the event, Sasuke Uchiha along with his sensei Kakashi and his teammate Naruto Uzumaki. The proctor, a fair-haired chunin in a green flak vest looked up at the Hokage far above when the time came, and the Hokage nodded his approval to begin the finals, even without the arrivals. The jounin sensei who were gathered there with their genin left the arena and found a seat in the stands to watch their students.

The ninja used a jutsu to amplify his voice which boomed over the stands, silencing all quickly. "Ladies and gentlemen, today marks the beginning of a new generation of ninja. These are the best of the best of all of the elemental nations, and here we stand today in friendly competition, strengthening our political and military bonds. Without a—"

The proctor was interrupted slightly when Naruto calmly walked through the door to the stadium floor and paced calmly and steady toward the group of genin.

"Without further ado," he continued loudly, "I am proud to announce our first match, the one prodigious genius of the Hyuuga clan itself, Neji Hyuuga, fighting the mysterious and powerful Naruto Uzumaki. The rules are that the fight will continue until one of you is rendered unable to fight or forfeits. When I declare the match over, you will stop or you forfeit your victory. Everyone clear the arena except for the contestants. Here and now, we begin the first match of this year's chunin exams! Three…" He began to count down, the genin long dashed off.

Time slowed for the two remaining genin in the center of the arena. A verdant leaf slowly fell between them and the once again cheering crowd was drowned out by each ninja's heartbeat. Even Naruto was anxious to get started.

"Two…"

They made unfazed eye contact, staring each other down with vicious visages. The Hyuuga prodigy quickly mentioned something to Naruto in a low, quiet and calm voice. "Here you will fall, Uzumaki."

"One…"

"It is not I who will fall, whelp," countered a raspy Naruto.

"Start!"

The leaf hit the ground at last as the two enemies jumped away from each other to opposite sides of the arena as the proctor ascended the wall to a safer observing location.

Neji immediately began by exclaiming his clan's signature move aloud for the whole stadium, hundreds of people who have never witnessed it before gasped and cheered louder as they first witnessed the power of the Byakugan. He watched Naruto with cold, white eyes, expecting him to show fear or restraint. He saw no noticeable effect from Naruto; he continued standing, his cloak swaying in the wind lightly. Neji frowned a bit more, learning that fear tactics would have no hold here before rushing at Naruto immediately, thirty seconds not having passed since the battle started, and as soon as he moved the crowd went wild. People knew of the fabled Hyuuga clan and their powers, and expected it to be painfully humiliating for the cloaked boy who had no well-known family name.

Naruto clenched his fist beneath his cloak and tensed waiting and watching as Neji quickly crossed the field, quicker than any genin he'd ever fought. Within a second, the boy had crossed half the sizable arena, and that was when Naruto made his move. Naruto started by rearing back his fist at the moment when he knew Neji would be unable to stop from momentum, thinking he would sucker punch the genin for all he was worth and win with one hit in less than a minute. They met, Neji's inertia clashing with Naruto's pure strength and metal gauntlet. Naruto didn't expect a sharp pain to seize his fist which he drew back, but he was unable to nurse his wound since Neji did not relent. Instead of punching, he relied on the Hyuuga's special technique that targeted specific points of the enemy's body for critical hits. Naruto realized the tenketsu in his fist was severely damaged and that he wouldn't be able to accurately use chakra with it, at least for a while until his advanced healing fixed it up. Naruto continued dodging a smirking Neji for only a few moments before he blinded Neji with a kick of dirt into his eyes and retreated to the opposite side of the arena while Neji recovered. While this happened, Naruto used his working hand to employ his chakra field technique, hoping that it would limit the use of Neji's eyes.

Neji finally freed the last of the dirt from his eyes before angrily targeting Naruto, noting that everything his Byakugan was viewing was obscured, although he could still perceive normal vision normally, disregarding slightly teary eyes. He grunted as he rushed towards Naruto again, angry as ever, but seemingly calm. With a grunt of effort Neji flew with his attack ready at the unmoving Naruto. At a moment's notice, Neji had just enough time to defend himself in the air when the Naruto he was rushing towards exploded violently, causing many onlookers to gasp, not expecting that almost as much as Neji didn't expect it. The cloud of debris cleared and Neji was seen standing alone in the arena, a crater nearby and smoking. He was looking worse for wear considering only ninety seconds had passed.

"Uzumaki! Show yourself and end this charade!"

Without his eyes to help him, he didn't see the Naruto in the tree in the opposite side of the arena, nor could he sense the Naruto hidden in the ground beneath him, nor the Naruto who was disguised as a rock in the crater behind Neji. From all around him, Neji heard Naruto respond. "As you wish."

Naruto burst forth from the ground, trying to sucker punch Neji in the jaw, but the more experienced genin barely dodged it and instead countered the Naruto in the chest, but while he was preoccupied in front of himself, another Naruto came from behind him and tackled him down as the first Naruto dispersed into smoke. They struggled for a moment before the Naruto pinning him down grinned and spoke loudly, but just as raspy, enough for many in the arena to vaguely hear, but only enough for Neji to coherently understand. "Hyuuga, surrender now or die."

Neji grunted as he pushed with all his might, pushing Naruto off of him and standing up straight for just a moment, only enough to turn and face his temporarily unbalanced attacker before he felt something off. He couldn't tell what it was with his Byakugan mostly disabled, but he could feel the chakra field around him distorting before he realized something was about to happen. He lurched out of the way a split second before the ground beneath him erupted in an explosion of rock and earth. He turned with disbelief written across his face toward the Naruto who was now walking towards him again, both hands had index and middle finger extended towards him. He rocked one arm and the ground again exploded, although Neji dodged wildly. He shook his other at Neji and Neji again dodged, not wanting to be blasted apart like the wall behind him had become. Neji grunted as he heard his sensei cheering for his success amongst the crowd, not wanting to let him down, nor his clan, nor his name.

He regained his footing as he stood facing the monstrously powerful genin before him, vowing aloud for all to hear, "I will not lose to the likes of you!"

He charged towards Naruto who now took a defensive stance as Neji pelted him at what he believed to be the tenketsu, he could not see with his Byakugan the accuracy of his hits. Naruto grunted in pain as he endured. Then, surprisingly, he ceased his dodging as Neji forced him a few meters away, airborne, until Naruto crashed into the ground. Neji smirked and quickly ran towards him, prepared to finish it. He stood over Naruto, who wasn't moving. Neji realized something was off as he went to leap out of the way again as he again felt another buildup of chakra, but was too slow this time. Before anyone could react, thinking Neji was about to win this match, something horrific happened. The ground shattered beneath Neji and Naruto, and a large semi-translucent spike of partially visible chakra burst forth from the ground, before numerous smaller chakra spikes shot up around it like hellish skewers, the ground now resembling a porcupine's back with two bodies dangling above the ground. Naruto and Neji were both speared; or so it was thought for a moment until the Naruto that Neji had been fighting disappeared and dispersed into smoke. The spikes lasted only an instant before disappearing and allowing Neji to tumble back to the ground from the air where the spikes held him for only a brief moment, allowing his blood to gush freely.

The observers were silent.

The true Naruto fell from the tree across the arena, and walked towards Neji. Before he arrived, the proctor leaped down and called the match loud enough for all to hear that Uzumaki had won. Medics came and took Neji away on a quickly bloodying stretcher, but at least this time his opponent had lived, if only barely. Naruto was asked to wait in the contestant box, which he gladly went to with a smirk on hidden on his face as the next battlers were called down. His adrenaline was rushing and he had never experienced something so incredibly fun. He was barely tired after all the training with Jiraiya and couldn't wait to fight once more.

The stands were a low rumble of murmurs and whispers, nobody expected the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan to fail against some no-name ninja. But here it happened before them, this "no-name" was powerful. Hiashi Hyuuga looked furious, but kept his mouth clenched tightly in a firm line, although his brow was furrowed with anger. The Inuzuka were seething in disgust and anger, finding further reason to destroy the demon their leader kept safe. Without further delay, since the crowds were becoming uneasy, the proctor again boomed over the entire arena. "It seems that Sasuke Uchiha and his mentor have not yet arrived. However, as per the Hokage's orders, we will delay the Uchiha's fight and instead skip ahead to the next one. Next up is Kankuro and Shino!"

Without a thought, Kankuro shouted down at the proctor across the arena. "Proctor, I forfeit the match!"

The other combatants looked at Kankuro skeptically who sheepishly shrugged. Shino blankly stared at him, not saying a word.

The proctor continued. "Well, Shino Aburame wins by default… Erm… Next is Temari versus Shikamaru of the Nara clan!"

Shikamaru groaned and mentioned having to fight a girl is such a drag and Temari, filled with feministic fury, hit him so hard that he landed in the arena against his will. Without further ado, the proctor began the match and the shadow-user and the wind-specialist began their fight. Naruto meanwhile left the closed quietness of the waiting room for the combatants. He felt no urge to stay there when he could not fight, but forced to watch others. The other genin watched warily as the genin walked out the room to some undisclosed location, feeling slightly better that the scariest of them all had now left, uplifting their spirits lightly.

Naruto stood at the top of the arena, away from the Kage booth where the ANBU swarmed with security. He stood atop the red tile, letting the cool, gentle breeze flow through his cloak and across his face as he waited for his next battle. His mind wandered as he waited, blankly staring around at the town that was unfortunately his home. Behind him, he heard cheers and gasps and clapping, essentially telling him the match was boring. A truly entertaining match would have a quiet audience, breaths held in suspense. The boy sighed, and waited…

About half an hour later, the proctor had called all of the first round matches, except for the last and most anticipated one. Gaara of the Sand village was angry and bloodthirsty, ready to taste his opponent's defeat himself, and yet the opponent had not arrived. He was furious. The crowds gathered in the shaded stands were becoming more and more impatient. The most anticipated match was about to become the most annoying disappointment. The Hokage signaled to the proctor, who nodded before shouting once more across the stands. "Attention, lords and ladies, unfortunately due to Sasuke Uchiha's absence, we have decided that—"

Sasuke and Kakashi appeared in the arena instantly in a mystical swirl of verdant leaves, causing the audience and Konoha ninja to burst with outbursts and cheers. The prodigy and long-awaited fight had come. Naruto heard from outside the arena on the roof of the stadium where he meditated alone, he knew that his team mate had come, and he knew the best fight was about to start. He decided to listen more intently, but to stay where he was instead of return to the waiting room.

"Sasuke Uchiha, nice of you to join us," boomed the proctor in a sarcastic way while smirking, causing many in the audience to laugh lightly, not willing to damn Sasuke or his title for any reason. "Gaara, you may now join Sasuke in the arena for the final fight of the first round."

Gaara appeared across the arena in a swirl of sand, a very haunted, furious looking visage appearing to the Konoha ninja grouped on the other side. Kakashi and the proctor both left Sasuke and Gaara to their fight, when the proctor counted down and began the fight. The stadium was absolutely booming with cheers.

After a brief moment of staring at each other, Sasuke activated his Sharingan before he initiated the first move, running toward Gaara faster than any had ever seen him move before, almost on par with the genin taijutsu specialist of Konoha. Gaara's sand exploded out of the gourd on his back without Gaara moving a muscle, and rose to block Sasuke's attack, and it succeeded, but couldn't defend when Sasuke quickly spun to the opposite side of his opponent and landed a blow, knocking Gaara off of his feet and sent the red head flying. The sand team and the Kazekage were appalled. Never before had anyone successfully attacked Gaara.

Gaara groaned and picked himself up with the help of his sand, before turning toward Sasuke, although the part of his face where Sasuke hit him was cracked, as if he were porcelain. He roared and sent a massive amount of sand at Sasuke, who ran from it and circled around Gaara again while the wave of sand was enclosing. Gaara's defenses were more protective this time, learning from Sasuke's attacks. Before the wave of sand collided with Sasuke, he again landed a blow on Gaara who again was sent flying, all the way to the center of the arena. Sasuke outran the wave of sand behind him and approached Gaara who was still prone but before he could react, the sand turned into a spiked shield instead of just a barrier, forcing Sasuke to careen violently to the side to prevent himself from being impaled, although Gaara drew blood. Sasuke approached the side of the stadium holding his arm where he was just wounded.

The stadium roared when the sand strewn all across the verdant grass and dirt collected around Gaara, who formed a thick sand ball around himself to defend against Sasuke.

Sasuke tested the defense by launching shuriken at it, but they simply bounced off ineffectively. Sasuke grimaced, again holding his arm, which began dripping blood.

Naruto listened intently from his position above the stadium, hearing the roars of the crowd and the gasps and the cheers. He knew it would be a great battle. He could feel the power struggle between them with fluctuations in his chakra field.

Sasuke decided to finish it, as was noticed by many when he smirked defiantly. He ran up the wall of the arena, confusing many in the stands, although his sensei Kakashi was watching lazily, knowing what was about to happen. He sat with Sakura near his "rival" Guy, a taijutsu specialist. Guy's jaw dropped and he immediately questioned Kakashi, "Kakashi, why did you teach him that technique?"

"Well, he needed something to get past obstacles like this. So I taught him what he needed to know, and that is all."

"Kakashi, you know you shouldn't teach something that powerful to a genin!"

"Just like you didn't teach Lee how to open his chakra gates?"

That finished the conversation quickly.

Sasuke stood there on the wall, quite a distance above the arena floor and his target, still gripping his right arm with his left hand. He was crouched, holding it against the wall when suddenly it sparked. Outside, Naruto's eyes opened in surprise. Sasuke's hand began to glow blue, electricity crackling over it, shattering the wall where it touched his hand. Without hesitance, he charged down the wall, dragging his hand across it and cracking it open in a line. He reached the ground after only a moment before continuing his charge towards Gaara, who was still hidden inside his sand shell. Sasuke roared and jabbed his lightning-coated hand toward the sand ball, just as spikes reached out towards him. Naruto could hear the audience gasp after the audible boom of contact.

Sasuke stood there his arm impaled deep into the shell of sand, and the spikes of sand had barely missed impaling Sasuke, who instead was dealt rather painful looking flesh wounds. The stadium was quiet for a moment when Gaara roared. It was then in the moment of awe and shock that the overwhelming urge to sleep overcame many in the arena, and within moments, although Gaara still yelled while Sasuke tried to free his arm from the grasp of the sand, many in the stadium fell asleep with the help of a powerful genjutsu. An explosion rocked the arena, alerting the few who had not fallen asleep to awaken themselves from this genjutsu before realizing what was going on. Explosions were heard all around the village as well. The ninja were in disarray as Gaara's siblings jumped down from the waiting area to grab him and escape the arena, Sasuke following after a moment of hesitance. Many older ninja approached the source of the first explosion, finding that the Kazekage had a kunai held up to the Hokage's neck as the Kazekage leaped away toward another building with his jounin following. The Hokage's guards and other elites followed quickly, shouting orders over radios. The ANBU and other jounin around the village now fought their enemies who had begun their siege of the village hidden in the leaves. Naruto stood, watching with no emotional reaction as the village was enveloped in chaotic energy.

Naruto witnessed as the Hokage fought with the Kazekage, only to realize who it really was when the Hokage called out Orochimaru's name, and the Kazekage smirked and removed his face, revealing Orochimaru. The Kazekage was but another pawn to this evil man who beset the Hokage in mortal combat. Within moments, before the Konoha ninja could assist their leader against their greatest adversary, Orochimaru's followers revealed themselves as sound ninja, powerful ones at that, and erected a chakra-enhanced barrier that would kill anyone who tried to cross it, leaving the Hokage to Orochimaru's hands.

However in the arena itself, many ninja were combating, especially the proctors and jounin sensei and the genin hopefuls. Without delay, Naruto readied a couple of chakra bullets and leaped down from his perch, flipping over the top of the arena and falling down into the fray, only to release both shots before he hit the ground, each killing multiple Sand and Sound ninja. Within moments of Naruto's arrival, and due to the disarray he wrought with his powers, the experienced combatants easily overpowered their attackers before the ninja regrouped, although before the end Naruto was coated with gore. Kakashi found Naruto first, while the other genin were given orders to deal with civilians. However, Kakashi had another important task for Naruto to complete.

"Naruto! I need you to take some of these genin and go find Sasuke! Gaara isn't normal, Naruto, there's some demonic power within him, and Sasuke isn't ready for that! Go now!"

Before Naruto could respond, Kakashi was gone to help others fight off the invasion force. Naruto looked around him and took note of which genin were still yet available, only finding a few weak genin before him. He had to his manipulation Shikamaru the tactical genius, Shino the relatively intelligent combatant, Sakura his nearly useless team mate. He gathered them all together and said only one phrase to them: "Follow me."

Without delay, they rushed through the grounds, and scaled the walls of the city, taking care not to come across war-torn zones across the village. They relied entirely on Naruto's senses; none of the genin knew where Sasuke had chased Gaara off to. After about ten minutes outside the village, the sounds of war faded, the smoke became distant hazes upon the horizon, but ahead, Naruto called out to them, "One of them heads this way, prepare to fight!"

After a moment, just as the black cloaked boy predicted, the war-painted sibling of Gaara, Kankuro, son of the Kazekage approached them from out of the foliage, cursing them and stating that none would get to his brother. Naruto prepared a chakra bullet, knowing that Kankuro would probably not be fast enough to dodge it if shot from under his cloak, hidden from view. Before Naruto began charging up his attack however, Shino held out his hand to stop Naruto. "Kankuro owes me a match. He will fight me and me alone. You continue onward, find Sasuke and stop Gaara from whatever he's doing."

Naruto nodded before he and Sakura continued quickly, leaving Shino with Kankuro, although Shikamaru halted only for a moment to wish his ally luck in his battle. As Shikamaru left, Kankuro smirked as he began to unravel the cocooned package he always kept on his back, declaring proudly: "Aburame, you will not live past this day." Shino remained emotionless and had no visible reaction, although he responded quickly to Kankuro, "I fear that it is you who will be stopped this day." The two combatants stared each other down as Naruto's distance from them caused their presences to leave his field of extended vision…

Regardless, Naruto continued with Sakura and Shikamaru. It was again only a short few minutes later that Naruto halted and announced the incoming presence of a large squad of Sound ninja, stopping and telling his companions of the incoming enemies. He prepared once more, only again to be stopped by Shikamaru. "Naruto, I will take care of these guys. You and Sakura can't be stopped anymore; you're going to lose Sasuke. Now go, I'll stay here." Naruto nodded and Sakura wished him luck and told him thanks, some humble quality she rarely exhibited. Without further delay, the two continued, leaving Shikamaru to the incoming forces, but Naruto, although he couldn't say he trusted any of them, he could trust that Shikamaru's tactical abilities would leave him victorious, and if not that, then the other Konoha ninja heading towards the Sound ninja would assist him surely. It was up ahead where they came across Temari who was unconscious on the forest floor, or even if conscious just barely so. They were more focused on the monster that Gaara had become, and was in the process of utterly destroying Sasuke, who was barely able to stay alive, realizing his folly of chasing some bigger prey than even his ravished pride could defeat. Before the monstrously deformed Gaara could strike again, Naruto intervened and kicked Gaara far out of the way, sending him crashing through a few tree branches in the foliage, causing Gaara to howl in anger.

Sakura immediately went to Sasuke and helped him escape to a safe distance, leaving Naruto to his devices, or his death, Sakura cared not now that she had Sasuke.

Gaara turned to face Naruto who stood menacing as ever, quiet and cold before the raging horror that Gaara had become. Now that he was still, Naruto could see that the sand from his gourd seemed to have covered parts of his body in sand limbs of some sort, giving him a deformed sand-monster appearance. Naruto knew without a doubt that his adversary had a demon within him, and it was coming out. As Gaara rampaged throughout the foliage splitting trees and crashing through branches towards Naruto, Naruto himself prepared a little surprise under his cloak for Gaara. As Gaara lunged at the cloaked figure, Naruto's cloak unfurled from around him revealing two of his signature chakra bullets ready to fire at Gaara who was too far along his attack to stop. Naruto shot both at the same time, and Gaara was launched backwards from midair and crashed through dozens of trees, the massively deafening sounds echoing through the forest; even those in battle in the city miles away could hear a faint echo. Temari shouted for her brother after the forest silenced. She was answered with a deafening roar and the sight of a grey blur being thrown into a tree, cracking it and knocking it over, the figure was revealed to be a Naruto who had just barely retained his consciousness. She looked through the foliage and saw a dark, looming shadow, she could see the gathering sand and dirt forming into a looming figure that haunted her very dreams: Shukaku the sand demon.

Naruto was quite dazed, he could barely see straight. Less than five seconds after his attack, he was rebutted by a massive fist of sand, something he was unable to avoid in time. He shook his head and attempted to straighten his vision. He could hear Temari screaming for Gaara in one direction through the foliage, but he couldn't see her from his location. All around him was bathed in shadow during the midmorning sun due to the massive sand demon now looming above him. Sakura and Sasuke were nowhere to be found. He was alone in this endeavor, but Naruto felt the adrenaline begin to flow and his more aggressive side became revealed…

Far off in Konoha, Jiraiya was atop a building, providing instructions for his summoned warrior toads to protect his people and home. However there was a loud roar, although far away the massive source of it was loud enough for it to be heard from this distance. Jiraiya turned away from the battle momentarily and looked in the opposite direction, and far out of the midst of battle was a towering sand demon, the Shukaku, freed from its host. Jiraiya blanched, knowing Konoha had not the strength to defend against this beast. His hope dwindled, and yet for his own allies he remained strong and pressed the defense onward.

But then Jiraiya and all the other people within many leagues felt something. A confounding presence, something sinister and vile, dark and calm, like a dismal toxin seeped into the souls of every living entity for miles. Even the Hokage and his adversary ceased combat for a moment due to this overbearingly powerful presence. The battlefield across the city was silent for mere moments. Civilians stopped in their evacuations. Ninja froze mid-strike. Even the massive summoned creatures gave pause, the massive snake and toads frozen in place. Everyone felt the foreboding presence of the strongest bijuu that currently existed. And then darkness seeped over the land, and the massively disdainful power faded slightly, just enough for all to regain the ability to move, although now all were blind in this perpetuating blackness. Jiraiya and other experienced ninja used this blackness to their advantage, as they were able to fight without sight, along with their summons. In this blackness, the giant snake of Orochimaru's origin was defeated by Jiraiya's toads, and many Sand and Sound ninja were killed, although Konoha was not without its losses.

Sakura screamed and crouched over her team mate Sasuke who was just barely regaining consciousness, not that he could see anything. There was no light. No sky, no ground, nothing could be seen. He called out Sakura's name and she held to him as if he were her only link to the physical realm that had so suddenly disappeared. And then there was force, causing her and her beloved Sasuke to be forced from the ground and thrown into the shadowy forestry roughly, injuring them badly as they collided with a tree.

Ninja everywhere became disoriented and confused, ally attacking ally and nobody was able to tell what was going on. Temari was frightened more than she's ever been, and she heard in the infinite pitch the screaming of Shukaku, and then massive crashes and rumbles, she felt the tree she was on buckle, and she toppled to the ground below, only to fall on top of an avalanche of sand. Shukaku was… defeated. He had dispersed. She had to find her brother. Shortly after, only after minutes of the darkness, it dispersed somewhat, revealing minimal light, enough to search for Gaara and flee. She found him barely conscious, unable to make coherent speech, frightened by something so horrifying that he would never be the same, and the beast within him was marred far more than it had ever been.

Naruto reigned in his darkness, it had been used far too long, and he was weak with fatigue. As he unleashed his hold upon the darkness that he controlled, it dispersed. Some of his spent chakra returned to him, but only a minute amount. Summoning shadows to do his bidding was a powerful and extremely taxing technique, but able to stop almost any foe of Naruto's. With his adversary defeated soundly and the invasion being wrapped up by his allies, Naruto allowed unconsciousness to take him as he fell, coming to fall almost lifelessly to the ground far from Sakura and Sasuke as some jounin arrived… they witnessed a massive crater, easily fifty meters across, strewn with sand, and barely bathed in the twilight's dull glow with Naruto unconscious right in the center of it.

Although the pitch blackness receded somewhat, the previously sunny sky was now a dark grey, as if a terribly thick storm had blocked out the sun. There was no bright light, but a faint twilight and occasional thunder, revealing just enough light for people to return to their previous activities with sight, namely fighting or fleeing. And those jounin who waited outside the barrier blocking the Hokage and Orochimaru regained their sight only to see such a terrible vision that the wretches wished they were still blind: the Hokage was dead, and Orochimaru was nearly unconscious. Orochimaru called his servants to him and his blackened arms that seemed dead and they fled into the dusk, signaling the retreat of the aggressors. The confrontation was over.

The enemies of Konoha had prevailed this day.

The darkened sky remained dark grey. The sun light that existed before did not glimpse through the thickened cloud cover for many days for many hundreds of leagues about the distraught and shaken village of Konoha.

"Kakashi! What happened out there!?" screamed a bloodied Kurenai, still adrenalized from the battle not even an hour old.

Kakashi appeared from the blackened darkness of the midday forest with two of his genin in tow, a group of jounin with a few carrying the injured, and Kakashi himself holding Naruto over his shoulders. "Kurenai… where is the Hokage? Or Jiraiya. I need one of them to tell me what the hell Naruto did."

"Kakashi… The Hokage, he's…"

Wounded and bloodied chunin still patrolling the city limits arrived at the recently returned team with Kakashi and immediately began arguing and shouting with Kakashi, cutting off Kurenai. "Silence!" yelled a newly arrived Inoichi. "Kakashi, bring Naruto and the other wounded to the hospital. Jiraiya should be there, stay with him and keep an eye on Naruto."

"Inoichi-san, did you see what that boy has done!? He's the one responsible for—"

Inoichi silenced the outburst quickly with an angry look at the chunin. "The rest of you, get back to your patrols, help the wounded, keep an eye out for any remaining enemies." They saluted quickly and left. "Inoichi," called Kurenai as he began to turn back towards the wreckage of a town, "what happened out there?"

"I don't know Kurenai. We'll only know if Jiraiya tells us or when Naruto heals…" Inoichi sighed and stared at the darkened sky, still thundering occasionally and blocking out the midday sun. "Inoichi-san, who knows about the… Hokage?" Inoichi looked at her with a blank stare. "Word is spreading quickly. Everyone will know by this evening, to be sure." He leaped away, leaving Kurenai alone. She decided the best thing to do is find survivors and help them secure the village, and for the source of the terrible powers she witnessed, she felt… animosity and pity… and fear.

It was much later when Naruto awakened with a jolt, barely able to move after expending so much of his energy so quickly. He was breathing quickly from the nightmare he just witnessed with vivid detail. However in the world of the living, the first thing he noticed was that he was alone in a hospital room, something he dreaded. He hated being treated at the hospital, usually his inner demon saw to his healing personally, not to mention the staff that was likened to the rest of the villagers. He noticed that the pale whiteness of the room was contrasted by the darkened, shadowy sky outside. It was still dark from his shadow summoning, he couldn't tell what time it was. He raised himself from the bed shakily, trying to make his head cease its spinning, taking a swig of the nearby glass of cool water. He noticed that he was dressed only in hospital garb, and his usual attire and wrappings were folded neatly nearby… someone had undressed him and seen his hidden features. He scowled and attempted to raise himself from the bed, succeeding minimally as he stumbled towards his clothes and slowly dressed himself in his typical attire, taking care to keep his balance. He could barely walk straight without using a crutch or a wall to lean against. He picked up slight noises coming from the hallway, and in peak condition he may have been able to make out the noises, but as of right now Naruto only heard rushing blood and quickened heart beats within himself, further baffling his still spinning vision. He went to the door and opened it, stumbling outward quietly, only to find himself face to face with a rather large amount of people: before him were his team mates and sensei, along with Inoichi, Jiraiya, Kurenai, Anko, Tsume and a couple of ANBU with their masks adorned. All turned towards the leaning and panting Naruto immediately, cutting short their whispered conversation.

"Naruto…"

"You're doing better it seems, you reckless little…"

"You should still be resting, Naruto. Your body still needs time to—"

"He doesn't need rest, not where that wild bastard is going!"

"Tsume! Silence yourself! It is not for you to say such things to him, especially now of all times."

"All of you silence yourselves," interrupted a rather austere looking Jiraiya. "Naruto, if you can, I need you to come with me, now," Jiraiya strained these words as if they carried more weight than the boy realized. "You, ANBU, continue your normal duties, you're done guarding now that he's awake. The rest of you, we're going to the ANBU HQ beneath the village." With that, the adults all teleported, carrying along their younger compatriots who did not know how to teleport, or rather where they were teleporting to. Naruto collapsed to one knee as he appeared in the conference room, unable to support his weight so suddenly. Nobody moved towards him except Jiraiya who helped him to his feet, and then to a nearby chair that Naruto gladly collapsed into. He looked around into the dark room, circular in nature with wooden chairs situated about, lit by many candles. It seemed more like a court room.

"What… Why are we here?" inquired Naruto quietly, still panting and breathing deeply.

Jiraiya looked to the others who said nothing, before sighing and continuing to answer Naruto's question. "Naruto, you've been unconscious for two days." He paused and let those few words sink into everyone who was attending. "And nothing good has come of these days. Naruto you… what you did, your shadows, it… people didn't take to it very kindly. It was only when your shadows were lifted that we discovered that Orochimaru had killed Hokage-sama." Naruto said nothing. He was shocked, and although his eyes were mostly shrouded in the pale lit room, they could see some undefinable emotion expressed in his eyes. "Naruto, I can't tell these people what you've done; only you can tell us what you've done. I don't know exactly how you did what you did, but you left a sizable hole in the land outside of Konoha along with many acres of destroyed forest. The sky is still dark since that ability of yours you used; we haven't seen sun in days, only thunder and darkness. Your team mates were found injured by your own attacks, by your recklessness. The people hold you responsible for the Hokage's death and our loss of so many ninja. You are still being accused for the death of Konoha ninja Kiba Inuzuka." At this, Tsume and Kurenai both had darkened visages. "And for a moment, only a moment, everyone stopped when we felt the power of…" Jiraiya glanced at Sasuke and Sakura for a moment before continuing. "Naruto, explain everything."

"Sensei, you know that I used that power I discovered. You did not tell them yourself?"

"Naruto, I do not know the… extent of your abilities regarding that. I do not know what you did to cause that destruction and defeat a released Bijuu and darken the sky for days on end."

"I used all of my remaining power to unleash the strongest, darkest shadows from the pits of all blackness. I called them and they heeded, just like we found I could do when I tried summoning for the first time. You realized then that I can summon these forces… and you know what they're capable of. I used my special chakra and summoned a deep, dark shadow over the land to destroy my enemy. With its coming, all light was blocked temporarily, and its power left the crater and decimated trees and defeated Gaara. It's difficult to control, so the injuries of those nearby could not be helped… Its power still seeps in our world, fading slowly from the land itself, still blessing us with its dark obscurities." The adults around knew what power he used to summon these shadows, they had felt that power once before more than a decade ago.

Tsume interrupted, "What is this, Jiraiya? You taught him the secret techniques of the Nara? Why, they would be appalled to know—"

"You know not what you speak of, so hold your tongue, Inuzuka," Jiraiya cut in sharply. "What he can do is far more dangerous and powerful than the Nara's shadow manipulation. He tried summoning without signing any contracts and we discovered that he could summon the shadows themselves, and use them in fantastic and dangerous ways. It's a powerful technique, one that was perhaps recently overused…"

Tsume growled and stayed silent, knowing her place in relation to Jiraiya of the Sannin.

"Sensei, I thought it was against ninja regulation to harm your own team mates. He harmed me and Sasuke, he deserves some sort of punishment for that, Kakashi-sensei! No matter how powerful he is or how much he's favored, he can't just break rules like that and not be punished!"

Kakashi looked at Jiraiya, and Jiraiya gave Sakura a look. "Naruto admitted that his power is difficult to control. He used it to save us ultimately, is that not enough? You are well and safe now, are you not?" Sakura looked away, bashful at being talked down to by such a powerful and renowned ninja, angered at his favoritism shown for Naruto, and worried that Sasuke wasn't being shown fairness. Sasuke glared at the boy, angered that he had the callous disregard for his team mates that dwarfed Sasuke's own.

"Naruto, there is also the matter of… Kiba."

"Kiba knew what could happen when he signed that waiver… What happened to him was possible from the start… and if not from me then possibly from another. I cannot be held responsible—"

"You sick little fucker, I'll—" Tsume prepared to pounce on Naruto and utterly rip him apart in his weakened state.

"Tsume, if you touch him, you will regret it. You heard it from the Hokage, you heard it from me, you heard it from Naruto, Kiba knew the consequences."

Kurenai whispered something as soft cries escaped her lips, "It shouldn't matter, he killed Kiba, my pupil, in cold blood… He could have easily knocked him out…"

Jiraiya sighed. "Look, this is final. I'm done with this situation. It's saddening, truly, but we can't afford at this point to dwell on one genin's death…"

Tsume huffed and punched a wall, turned away from everyone as hot tears fell from her. "You're just saving him. Anyone else would get a penalty but you… You protect him from the law… You protect him from justice…"

"Justice, Tsume? Justice is forgiving him for his past sins for saving us from a powerful demon that would have killed us all!"

Everyone was silent, and Naruto sat still in his chair, listening and watching, still absorbing the fact that his grandfather figure was dead.

"Naruto, until an official hearing is held by the council members, you are temporarily suspended from ninja duty. I'm sorry but I'm unable to do anything until they officially resolve all of these issues. That will happen at a later date. But when it does happen, I will announce your promotion and show the official documents with… Sarutobi-sensei's signatures. Until then, I've my own duties to attend to. Kakashi, see Naruto home safely. I'll speak with you all later."

Everyone left in a hurry, as all had prominent duties to deal with, either with guarding or reconstruction or some basic chore that needed doing, as the village itself was still in great disarray. Kakashi remained with Naruto and waited until he was sure they were alone before he spoke. "Come Naruto, I'll teleport you to your home." He grabbed Naruto from the chair and immediately teleported to the inside of Naruto's home and let him collapse to the bed in pain. "Naruto, you are my pupil but… You had no right to harm your team mates and endanger our Hokage. If your shadow power was so formidable, why not use it to save the Hokage who could have in turn saved us from the beast? I'll talk to you some other time… if you're reinstated to active duty. Until then, rest, Naruto… And remember that you are not alone." With that, Kakashi left with that cryptic message, although the exhausted Naruto couldn't contemplate it for long until he passed out alone in his house.

It was a long amount of time later, an undeterminable amount of time to the awakening boy who had just awakened from his latest haunting nightmare. He gasped and rose from his bed quickly and stumbled to his bathroom where he ripped off his still worn scarf and hood before he splashed cold water in his face while he stared at his pale reflection in the cracked mirror. He needed to forget his woes… He drank deeply from the cold faucet, not having hydrated his thirst for some time according to his dry and parched throat. He felt relatively well, although still not at full power. It was at least enough to move normally if not fight properly. He showered and redressed before deciding to enter town for a bit. He needed some sustenance.

As he opened his door, he came face to face with a still dark sky with faint rumbles of thunder still roaring across the sky as angry reminders of the horror witnessed by the survivors. He exited his house and left for the nearby ramen stand he occasionally visited. As he quietly walked down the nearly deserted street, he noticed the very few people out at this hour, whatever this hour may be, were eyeing him carefully, suspicious and afraid. Many outright entered their respective shops and locked their doors. Naruto cared little, he was used to this at any rate, although he had his suspicions for their recently more dramatic behavior. He neared the ramen stand and he heard whispered voices from inside, faintly drifting words coalescing to Naruto, such as "monster" and "Hokage" and "darkness". Naruto entered nonetheless and came face-to-face with other Konoha genin, including the young girl from Neji Hyuuga's team, Tenten if Naruto recalled correctly, along with Neji and Sakura and Ino and Shikamaru and Choji. They silenced and Sakura even blanched when their conversation topic walked in, intimidating as ever, and this time there were no elder ninja to protect them from Naruto's wrath. However he nonchalantly walked by them, letting them all exhale a breath they didn't realize they were holding. He sat in the corner of the small eatery opposite of where the genin were sitting and ordered a small ramen topped with meats and seafood. Because of his location in the dark corner of the restaurant, nobody could see his face while he ate. The entire time, the group of genin were too frightened to move, even Neji the prodigy with his glorious Byakugan didn't dare to move, as if the slightest motion would draw that monster's attention towards them and their potentially overheard previous conversation.

Naruto finished and paid the chef his money and a tip and left, and although his face was enshrouded in shadow, Tenten swore to the others later on that he was looking right at them with contempt. Naruto left and prepared to leave the city for a while. He heard during their prior conversation that the Hokage's funeral was later today, he would certainly attend. Since he was temporarily suspended from duty however, there was no chance he would be needed for anything. Civilians were allowed to leave the city freely. Naruto walked onward for over an hour at a slow pace until he came upon a strange sight: a line of trees beyond the healthy trees he was walking through were sickly and black, as if some arboreal venom contaminated these plants. But it was the grass, as well, and the flowers. Everything beyond this line was rotten and dying, Naruto even noted absence of living animals, only blackness. He dared to peer beyond slightly, not wanting to step into that mysterious mess, only to see what he feared was there; the massive crater he left fighting Gaara. His shadow attack seemed to have contaminated and killed all nearby life in a large radius around the crater. He turned, not wanting to witness his mistake any longer.

On his way back however, Naruto sensed something strange. He sensed very formidable chakra signatures and a weaker one nearby, engaged in combat. Surprised and feeling his adrenaline rush slightly, Naruto hid himself amongst the trees and quickly tracked the sources of the power until he came upon a fight. It seemed that Kakashi and Sasuke had been ambushed by an enemy but, Naruto strained his vision from his safe distance in the forest, he couldn't tell who the enemies were. They seemed to be wearing cloaks. He moved closer, but the suggestive sensation in his head commanded him to flee instead, not to be seen. He disobeyed his precognitive feelings for once, he was too curious.

He advanced quickly, remembering vividly the years of training with the late Hokage, making sure to keep his signature masked as much as possible and limit his breathing and motions as he came closer. Although these ninja were in the midst of combat, Naruto knew well that the most experienced could still sense other enemies outside their normal vision. He witnessed two men in dark cloaks with red clouds on them utterly destroying Kakashi and Sasuke. Although Naruto held not much sympathy for the two, he felt utterly compelled to protect them, but he knew in his weakened state he would only harm himself at best, perhaps serve as a quick distraction. In any case, Naruto could do nothing here. Naruto was utterly shocked when Kakashi had fallen, he knew Kakashi's true power was formidable, so these enemies would be… far beyond his peak abilities. Naruto prepared to run as the shorter one seemingly finished off Sasuke with some secret technique before he heard one of them call out "Naruto, you can come out now."

Naruto was confused but he knew if these unknown people were here to fight him like Kakashi, well, suffice to say in this state, Naruto knew he'd be an easier win than Sasuke was. He emerged from the foliage slowly to come face to face with the two mystery men, one of whom had blue scaly skin and razor sharp teeth along with a large sword, he resembled a shark. The other, Naruto looked again to make sure he saw correctly, the other resembled Sasuke, but Naruto knew that all the Uchiha were dead… But… before him stood one that wasn't Sasuke.

"We meet at last, Naruto Uzumaki," calmly said the Sasuke-clone, whereas the blue man chuckled and hefted his sword upon his shoulder.

Naruto raised his head toward the Uchiha.

"I am Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's older brother. I am the one who killed the Uchiha clan years ago."

Naruto still stared blankly at them. They couldn't feel him using chakra or preparing anything, they couldn't feel him tensing, and they didn't even feel his heart beating faster in fear. They knew this was no clone, but they were slightly surprised by the fact he was unfazed. "Naruto, you are a wanted young man. There is worthiness to your name that you do not yet understand, and we seek it."

Only then did Naruto respond to them. "And that is?"

Itachi prepared to respond but the grinning shark man interrupted. "You know what you have inside of you boy, and it doesn't take a genius to realize how rare and powerful that thing is."

"Unfortunately Naruto-san, our time here is ended. As much as I'd like to stay and chat with you after all these years, I cannot. It seems others come at an inopportune time, strong ones we do not wish to encounter at this time."

Naruto watched as Jiraiya and a plethora of ANBU and jounin appeared and entered combat stances without saying a word. An ANBU medic helped Sasuke regain balance before going to help the unconscious Kakashi. Sasuke's form on the ground was barely able to recognize his hated sibling when Itachi said his last words, heard by all and addressed to Naruto. "We will meet again soon, Naruto-san." Itachi and the shark man disappeared without a trace, leaving Naruto among a small battalion of ninja who were no more sympathetic to his plights. Jiraiya quickly shouted for some trackers to look for the two enemy ninja.

"Naruto, what was that!" shouted Jiraiya, an incredulous look on his face. "What did that traitor just tell you? Tell me, boy!"

Naruto shook his head and responded quietly to the audience about him including the furious ANBU and Sasuke and worried Jiraiya. "They told me nothing…"

Some of the jounin and ANBU began murmuring.

Jiraiya scowled and turned on his heel and stayed quiet for a moment. After a while of tense silence he quickly shouted at the ANBU to get back to work, except for three. "Naruto, come with us. You two, get Kakashi and Sasuke. Naruto, your hearing is today. I came out here to tell you but…" They departed in tense distrustful silence.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" shouted one of the eldest council members before the entire jury consisting of many ninja and civilians. Naruto sat in the middle of the room, alienated. "You stand before this court accused with numerous accusations! We will discuss each and every one and this jury will hereafter charge you guilty or innocent as proven today." Silence loomed in the room and Naruto sat, defiant as ever. "Uzumaki, many here accuse you and your… shadow technique as the cause of our beloved late Hokage's death, along with the countless deaths of our own ninja who died unable to see their adversaries. What say you?"

Silence prevailed until the boy whispered his response to them: "I did not kill Hokage-sama nor the other Konoha ninja. My technique only clouded the eyes, what happened to Hokage-sama came from Orochimaru and would have happened with or without my technique."

The jury roared with rage, the clamor of angered men and women of the village prevalent. The "indisposed" elder council members had scowls upon their faces. "You knew Orochimaru would kill our Hokage?"

"No."

"Then what baseless fact is that? How would you know Orochimaru would have killed or been killed if you had not the knowledge of the result of the battle? For all we know, Orochimaru, our greatest enemy, could have been killed by our still-living Hokage had you not done what you've done you peasant!" The jury roared with approval. A few stayed silent with grim visages.

"Uzumaki, you are also accused of reckless destruction of Konoha's territory on a massive scale. Your technique not only left a massive crater in the middle of our forest, but the shadows you summoned have infected the land around the crater. It is a black blemish slowly rotting the forest apart, caused by you, Uzumaki. What say you to this accusation?"

Naruto was silent for a moment before admitting the truth on his part, his own fault in this case. "I did not… understand the consequences of that power at that time. I was unaware that in the process of saving all of us from certain annihilation, I'd subject our forests to relatively minimal blight. It is my fault for not seeing clearly which option you would have wanted instead." At this, the people in the courts shouted again in outburst to his callous impoliteness and haughty attitude.

"But you have no other techniques? No other powerful abilities that I'm sure you're hiding that could have, perhaps just as quickly, taken out the sand demon?"

At this, Naruto was silent. And the jury's loud arguing simmered into quieted mumbling amongst themselves with suspicions.

"You are also accused of severely harming Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, your two team mates, with your reckless shadow power. How do you plead?"

Again, Naruto paused before answering quietly. "That power is difficult to control."

"So not only do you use a wildly destructive jutsu of some sort, but you are barely able to control it? You subjected us all to its horror and potential harm because you did not want to fight the beast with another technique? There are other ways to deal with enemies, boy. Furthermore, you are the sole cause of the darkness that killed our Hokage and still lingers over us to this day!" Outbursts were heard and out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Jiraiya looking at him with pity and sadness. For a short moment, only a moment, Naruto felt a pang of… something. He knew not what he felt, but it made his stomach twist uncomfortably. A moment after Naruto's eyes vaguely glowed red, a dull red that only Jiraiya saw, and his eyes widened in response.

"Uzumaki, you also stand accused by over a dozen witnesses for being an accomplice to one of our most despised traitors, Itachi Uchiha. They saw you and each and every one of the witnesses said you were unharmed while Kakashi and Sasuke both were. They each heard Itachi tell you that you will meet him again. This evidence leads us to believe that you may be in league with our enemy. How do you plead?" Naruto shook his head with incredulity.

"Nay, you misunderstand. I've not met the man before, in fact before today, I've never known that any other Uchiha still lived."

It was then that Sasuke Uchiha stood up from the jury. "I was there, Uzumaki. I heard everything he said to you. He told you he'd been waiting a very long time to talk to you, as if you were allies. You liar, my brother kills or disables everyone in his way except for his allies, although I'd use that term loosely. You weren't damaged or attacked, he wanted to speak with you…" The jury began mumbling incoherently amongst themselves. The elder council members continued with pleased glints in their eyes, "So Uzumaki, what say you now? We have witnessed proof to your… shadowy contacts."

"I've never met him before in my life."

"Then answer us boy," started a furious Tsume, "pray tell what he wanted with you then."

"I… do not know. He left before he said anything of importance." The jury jeered at him for his lacking response, but Naruto held his tongue.

"And finally, boy, you are accused of the murder of fellow genin of Konoha Kiba Inuzuka and have been charged multiple times by the Inuzuka clan who are rightfully furious with you. You killed him during the preliminaries for the final exams, and while you certainly had the willpower to knock him out or stop him in numerous other ways, you killed him in cold blood. While that rule was allowed in the exams, we cannot let you go unpunished for such reckless murder of a fellow ninja. What say you, boy?" Jiraiya stood at this point. "Enough! Naruto was altered from his encounter with Orochimaru in the forest. At that point in time, he was not himself! In his normal state of mind, had he not encountered Orochimaru, he would not have killed Kiba Inuzuka."

"But Jiraiya-sama, if Naruto-san was so negatively affected and experienced an altered mindset, why was he allowed to participate? Should not other methods have been taken to prevent something like that from happening?"

Jiraiya answered quickly, "The same reason Naruto continued on after he was given a seal by Orochimaru is the same reason Sasuke continued after he was given a cursed seal by Orochimaru." The audience mumbled a bit, some agreeing with that particular sentiment, if not the situation's defendant.

"Oh, is that so? Then perhaps Naruto has a seal to prove that Orochimaru left some lasting effect, which would somewhat be forgivable, as we all know what… methods that man uses are rather detrimental. What seal was Naruto given?"

Jiraiya paused for a moment before sheepishly answering, "The seal was removed from Naruto already, it was affecting his abilities too greatly…"

Another councilman asked, "Oh? Then when was this seal removed? Is there a copy of it for you or others to examine?"

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and sheepishly answered, "Well, erm… The seal was removed shortly after Naruto arrived at the tower in the Forest of Death before the preliminaries. There is no copy of it recorded, it was a simple five-point seal applied to his abdomen—"

"Jiraiya-sama, if the seal was removed before he fought and murdered Kiba, then what defense is that! If the seal was removed, that is no excuse for his transgression. Naruto Uzumaki, you are charged with murder of fellow Konoha ninja Kiba Inuzuka and you will pay the price, to be determined shortly."

They continued on while the jury remained quieted for a while. "Naruto, you have been found guilty as accomplice to the death of Hokage-sama and many of our own ninja with your shadows," the audience cheered on the judges. "You have been found guilty of destruction of Konoha's forests which were built by our past Hokage many years ago, a treasonous crime." Still, more cheers at the court heads and jeering at the boy. "You have been found guilty for reckless endangerment of your two team mates. You are found guilty of associating with Itachi Uchiha, a traitor to our village. You are found guilty of murder in the highest order, murder of a fellow ninja of Konoha typically leads to the death penalty." The jury was mad with noise, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto witnessed Tsume and a few other Inuzuka cheering madly for his death. Jiraiya was afraid, still standing and prepared to intervene at a moment's notice. "However, due to your past successes, such as your defeat of Zabuza and defeating the sand demon, you will be spared death." Jiraiya exhaled, a great pressure lifted from his shoulders. Tsume was red with rage and about to scream at the top of her lungs. "You will instead be expelled from ninja ranks forevermore. Naruto Uzumaki, you are no longer a ninja of Konoha."

Jiraiya put his voice into the fray of overlapping voices, "Nay! The Hokage himself promoted Naruto to chunin status before his death! It is the Hokage's wish that Naruto remain a ninja of Konoha to the best of his ability!" The younger council elder responded tersely. "Jiraiya-sama, his actions have condemned him to this fate. He has been found guilty on all accounts, this is the best we can do for him without simply letting him go freely, which is out of the question. I'm sorry, but this is the way it will have to be." Jiraiya stood shocked with his mouth open and the court murmuring and sneering at the boy who had not moved. Naruto was frozen with disbelief. The only thing he could ever do, the only thing that made his grandfather-figure proud, the only reason for his existence—being a ninja—it was over. "This court is now disbanded, Uzumaki, your headband will be retrieved by our agents later today, along with all of your military weapons and equipment. Good day." And it was over faster than Naruto realized.

Jiraiya quickly approached the boy who stood up, but before he could say anything to Naruto, he was gone. Jiraiya knew however that the Hokage's funeral was today, he knew he would see Naruto there.

It was the afternoon when the sun would have been seen sinking into the horizon had there not been such dark cloud cover. The diminishing light from the setting sun beyond the clouds left those outside with less light than before, as it began to rain and thunder ever louder. The sky was almost black, with few cracks of grey in it, occasionally a bright flash would highlight the world below to the light they had not seen for a long time. It mattered not, as today was a dark occasion, the burial of a beloved hero and leader of the village of Konohagakure. The weather was fitting, it was black and storming. Rain washed over all, soaking all to the bone. There was absolute silence in the massive crowd amassed at the center of town before the Hokage's funeral march. All were dressed in black, all were silent. The deeds of this man would be remembered for all time. It is this scene that Naruto came upon much later that day, after he had been missing for several hours. He arrived from an alley, behind those who were farthest from the procession, leaving him unnoticed. He stood quietly and still, mentally recounting the times he's never thanked the old man for his kindness or all the times he's disappointed him. It was during his musings that someone noticed him, and murmurs quickly spread before there was a large crowd, now turned away from the funeral and rioting towards the cloaked boy. It quickly drew the attention of all others. Ninja approached, wondering what in the world would cause such a ruckus during a silent moment of reverence when they saw the boy, the boy responsible for their leader's untimely demise.

"Naruto Uzumaki! You dare show your face here? Leave this sanctified place free of your insolence!"

"Isn't it his fault we're here today?"

"Someone get him out of here!"

"You worthless garbage! Why did you have to kill our Hokage!"

More came, endlessly, tormenting the boy with their insipid venom spewing forth from their lips, each lie and each insult jarring the boy who was already weakened inside. Some jounin came and grabbed the boy and teleported him far across the village, where they threw him in a gutter, as he was unresponsive and still a bit weak from his battle days ago. "Stay there you sick little devil. Stay there and die!" With that, they left the muddied and soaked Naruto in a ditch on the outskirts of town, alone. And Naruto's mind was spinning faster than ever his body could.

"I've had enough," he whispered to nobody in particular, there was nobody outside the Hokage's funeral procession far down town. "I've had more than enough. I'm sick of all of you… Every one of your wicked heathens have brutishly wronged me with injuries wrought so deep I shall never…" He paused for a moment as his eyes glowed red with hatred. "You will all pay for your vile transgressions, and I will make you all beg for death before the end." Enthralled in a rage so hideously disparate to his usually calm nature, he stood and punched a nearby garbage can, the metal instrument crashing into a building a few meters off. He snarled and turned down the street, breaking carts, windows, and shredding doors. He left gouges in stone with his iron gauntlets. He continued for some time, seeing only a red haze clouding everything with his anger. His eyes grew ever brighter. He roared in pure fury and punched the wall nearest to him, breaking it utterly and causing the side of the small building to collapse. It was his apartment, he realized. In his tantrum, he broke the only safe haven he had. Nearly hyperventilating and utterly pissed beyond all calmed cognition, he went inside. He packed up his clothes, his essentials, food, drink, medical supplies, weapons; he gathered everything that could be used in a matter of moments and packed it all into a large pack which he attached to his back under his cloak to his harness, above his ever-present satchel. He found a picture he had taken years ago of him standing with his grandfather figure. A short moment of regret washed over him as he felt sickened by what he would be doing shortly, about everything he's ever strived for being wasted. But it wasn't his fault, it was theirs… As it always was. He left after a brief moment's pause as rainwater began flooding into his old abode from the crumbling hole he had made in the side, only to come outside face to face with Jiraiya who was appalled at what Naruto had done.

"Naruto, what the hell did you do!? You practically destroyed all of Konoha's commercial and residential district, and your home! What the devil has gotten into you?"

"Get out of my way, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya's face betrayed his incomprehensible incredulity. "Naruto… what are you doing? You aren't planning on leaving are you?"

Naruto looked up, his hood blown off from the rain's incredible winds. Jiraiya saw Naruto's crimson, glowing eyes burning with rage and defiance, his long white hair sticking to his face in the rain. "The tyranny shown by thine countrymen shall no longer be tolerated. Jiraiya, I have freed myself from this prison forevermore, and I shan't ever return. Know only this, the horror I've survived through shall never be forgiven, and the sins of those tormentors and thine brethren shall be repaid tenfold."

"Naruto! Don't leave your home! Your father would have wanted—"

"Would have wanted a better life for myself. I can only find that beyond the gates, sensei."

"Naruto, if you try to leave, I will detain you myself. You have no idea what waits for you outside these walls you call home. You will never be safe! At least here I can protect you!"

"You cannot stop me Jiraiya, nobody can. The limit of thine fleshy prison is privy to mine knowledge. I've never called this barbaric place my home and have never felt such inclination. And thine has the gall to believe thine can protect me! Nay! Your folly has allowed my enemies to leave me without a purpose here. I can only truly thrive away from this accursed place."

Jiraiya glared at Naruto through the storming rain and lightning flashed across his face, showing his anger and disbelief. "I will stop you then, Naruto. May your father forgive me…"

Jiraiya flashed towards Naruto, but Naruto, who had already given in his control to his inner demon, felt the suggestive sense in his head lead him to the left, away from Jiraiya's first punch. Jiraiya fell forward and stumbled, not expecting Naruto to be able to predict his move and dodge. He turned with a kick aimed at the boy, planning to trip him and detain him afterward. Naruto's sense gave him the precognition needed in order to leap over the kick and land behind a crouching Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, you dare defy me? You side with my enemies?"

Jiraiya stood and turned quickly, in a fighting stance. "Naruto, I protect this village with my life. And… if you are against it, then that makes you my enemy. I'd beg you to reconsider but…"

"Then know Jiraiya, that when the time comes, thine existence will be snuffed out along with the plebeians that infest this land. However in light of my own slight reverence for your bit of charity, I will make thine death a painless demise," Naruto paused and dropped his Konoha headband on the street and crushed it. "I shall see you again, dear sensei."

With that, Naruto expelled his chakra into the atmosphere about his form. Jiraiya watched, knowing Naruto's trick already, but to his astonishment, Naruto faded from view, the last part of Naruto Jiraiya could see was Naruto's eyes glowing with malice and demonic chakra. Jiraiya jumped immediately to where Naruto was just standing, but found nothing there. He tried to sense Naruto's location, but the boy's chakra clouded the atmosphere about him so that such abilities were nullified. Naruto was gone, and Jiraiya was left in the rain around a crumbling street with a crushed headband of his godson glinting as a testament to his failure.

He wasted no time and immediately went to seek Kakashi and any available ninja willing to do this task without killing the boy… He found Kakashi with Kurenai, among them were a few genin including Shikamaru, Sasuke, Choji, and Neji. They had recently left the late Hokage's funeral when they came upon a destroyed street that was assuredly not destroyed hours before with a frantic looking Jiraiya shouting for them. They approached him in the rain, wondering what had happened. "Jiraiya-sama, what is going on here?" Jiraiya wheezed for a moment, the rain not helping his health in the least. "Kakashi, take all of these ninja with you… there is an urgent assignment for you all, S-rank, I need your help immediately. Naruto, he's left the village! Only just—you must head after him immediately and whatever happens, bring him back alive! He headed to the Northern gate, go now!" Without questioning, they left immediately, Jiraiya staying there, worried about the entire world crumbling around him.

Immediately as they came upon the gate, they saw what their quarry had done. The gates that were kept closed since the invasion were blasted off their hinges and laying no less than twenty meters outside the wall in massive shards of lumber. The two chunin that guarded this gate were unconscious and coated with fresh blood, although for all they knew the chunin may have been dead. Choji volunteered to stay behind to staunch their bleeding and get medical assistance immediately for the two chunin. At this point, every ninja was important, since they had lost many of their forces in the battle days prior. He wished his comrades luck and told Shikamaru to come back in one piece. Shikamaru scoffed in his usual manner but inside, he knew Choji meant for him to be alive after this. They continued on, relying on Neji's Byakugan to follow Naruto's chakra field. Soon, as Naruto still was not in peak condition, they came upon him in a small clearing of trees, no more than an acreage of land. As they arrived, they stood defiant to Naruto's wishes, as they always have been. Naruto said nothing to them.

"Naruto, come back with us. I'm sure there's some way to atone for what you've done and—" started Kakashi, but he was interrupted by a stark barking laugh. "Thine trifles, surely. There is no forgiveness for myself, Kakashi. Let the village's filth do what it will, for I shall no longer be involved." Kakashi's face darkened as he revealed his Sharingan. "Then there is no hope for you, my pupil."

Naruto again laughed beneath his cloak and hood. He shook his head as the group of five prepared to battle him. With little warning from Neji who shouted, they leaped out of the way of the trees they were perched upon splintering from massive chakra spikes thrust from beneath them and meters into the air. Naruto laughed wickedly and continued using his ability. None of his pursuers had more than half a second to pause, lest they be skewered by his chakra spikes. While they played with his ability, Naruto readied two of his chakra bullets, one in each hand, beneath his cloak. He eyed Shikamaru, who had recently leaped into the air to escape another group of impaling spikes, and he could clearly see his destination on a tree branch. Naruto aimed right above the branch from beneath his cloak, as soon as Shikamaru landed from his evasion, he was blasted by Naruto, and one of his legs flew off from the force. Shikamaru began screaming with raw agony and spouting blood as a natural spring. Naruto decided to leave him be and cease his chakra spikes for the moment, for he knew a dead team mate weighed nothing to his allies, but a wounded team mate needed his allies to survive. Leaving Shikamaru alive would lessen the amount of enemies to hunt him. Naruto chuckled and fled further into the forest.

"Damn it! Kurenai—" began Kakashi. "I'll save Shikamaru, you go onward!" Kurenai yelled at him. He did not need to be told twice. Kakashi rushed forward after the boy with Sasuke and Neji, who was still healing from the battle and the beating from days before.

The trio rushed onward for nearly twenty minutes, Naruto barely gaining any headway, but staying fast enough to stay out of sight. More than once he left traps for them, including explosive clones and explosion tags. Kakashi was doing fine, but both Sasuke and Neji were looking worse for wear. Kakashi knew they had to find him quick before it was too late, before either his genin squad expired or Naruto exited the Land of Fire where he would be out of their jurisdiction.

It wasn't much longer until they came across another trap, and this one was wickedly hidden from sight. As soon as they landed on a tree, no more conspicuous than the others, a Naruto clone appeared from it and exploded. They encountered his explosive clones prior to this, but never this powerful before. Kakashi and Sasuke made it safely away, but Neji was knocked unconscious. Kakashi looked to find Sasuke, but the boy was gone. Kakashi tended to Neji briefly before he would continue on after Naruto and Sasuke.

It wasn't much longer until Sasuke came across a grand sight, where the forest abruptly ended there was a massive canyon with a river and a waterfall and a lake, ringed by two massive carved stone statues. Atop the furthest statue, Sasuke squinted to clarify his sight was correct; he spied Naruto, waiting in all his glory, waiting to fight his pursuers before he exited his home country forevermore. Sasuke obliged and climbed to the top of the statue closest to his position, opposite the canyon from Naruto atop the other statue.

"Naruto…"

The cloaked boy looked unfazed. Sasuke growled and activated his Sharingan. "Naruto, reveal yourself you coward. You always pester everyone from beyond the veil, yet you have not the courage to let them see your face."

He faintly heard Naruto chuckling. He watched with trepidation as Naruto shed his cloak from his shoulders and lowered his hood. He dropped his large pack to the top of the statue's head. He even took off his scarf for the first time before somebody. "Art thou happy? Art thou thrilled to witness the face of thine demise for the first and final time?" He grinned wickedly with his red slit eyes gleaming with malicious glee and his scars dripping blood from so much speaking as of late. Sasuke now knew why he was so quiet. He watched as Naruto's white hair quickly became matted to his head in the falling rain.

"I'm glad you had the courage to face me without your shroud to protect you. You won't make it past here, Naruto."

"And why is that, if I may ask? Does thou intend to stop me thineself?"

"If I must, then I will. Naruto, give up. Kakashi and others will be here shortly. You are tired from your fleeing. Surrender and you'll be taken peaceably. If you don't, we have no choice but to—"

"But to do what, exactly!?" Naruto questioned with manic laughter. "What will thou do to me? Stop me thineself? I think not, Sasuke." His eyes glowed even more crimson than before.

"You're a sickening excuse for a ninja, Naruto. You have power and you abuse it."

"And thineself is a perfect example, no? Is it honorable to use your precious Sharingan to copy your own allies' techniques?"

Sasuke growled, Naruto grinned only a bit longer, causing his lower face to be coated in a thick veil of blood. His smile slowly faded into a dark sneer before he spoke his final words, "Thine mission fails here, Uchiha."

Sasuke roared with anger, having had enough of Naruto. Naruto was more powerful. Naruto knew how to push his buttons. Naruto was more accomplished. Naruto was so much damned better than him, and even his own brother whom he hated, Itachi, didn't harm the boy when he should have. Sasuke was beyond his breaking point. He charged his Chidori, his Sharingan eyes fixated on the boy. After a moment, he watched as Naruto held out his hand, but to his surprise, an orb of pure chakra formed in it! 'Damn that Naruto! He's copied my Chidori!? DAMN HIM!' Sasuke roared a final time and leapt at Naruto, who waited atop the other statue with his arm outstretched towards his enemy. Just before they collided, Kakashi sensed something from his location about half a mile away, something massive about to happen. He immediately grew worried for Sasuke right before his ears were assaulted with the deafening roar of a titanic explosion.

The valley was thrust into blinding chaos as an explosion rocked the entire crevasse. Smoke clouded everything, but quickly dissipated with the rain. Trees all around the cliff's edges were knocked down or downright disintegrated. Kakashi arrived in time to see a cloaked and hooded Naruto leaping away across the border, before Kakashi himself gazed astonished at the massive gaping hole left where the upper parts of the cliff used to be. The two statues were no more from the waist up, the stone itself coated in blackness. And far below, floating with some forest debris in the water, Kakashi spied Sasuke, the water around him tinted black in the twilight, but Kakashi knew it was blood.

He rushed down, apprehension plastered across his face along with the horrifying realization that he may have lost two pupils, and one of them was a monster of absolute power. He quickly water-walked to Sasuke before lifting the boy up and his eyes widened with revulsion; Sasuke was missing one arm and one and one-half of his legs, and his body was nearly entirely covered with third degree burns. Kakashi quickly brought him back atop the Konoha side of the cliff and administered to the boy the few healing jutsu he knew of. Sasuke was stabilized but… He was no longer the same. Kakashi wept at what had become of everything in such a short amount of time… he wept for his sensei and his sensei's son. He wept for his pupils, for his past transgressions, for his failures… He was found by backup ANBU a short while later weeping over the nearly dead Uchiha, who took him and healed him to their best ability. They quickly returned towards their home in dismay.

Far off in Konoha, Jiraiya sat in his sensei's old office, drinking profusely. He knew what had become of the team; he only hoped that the backup he sent afterward would be able to save their lives. He knew everything was beyond fucked up. Everything he'd struggled for these last thirteen years was lost. Naruto was lost to him and Konoha, and perhaps even now Konoha's greatest enemy… Jiraiya held back his tears of anger and frustration as he pulled out a blank scroll and a quill. He dabbed the quill in ink and began writing, much to his dismay and sadness, some things that needed to be sent out…

He began the first letter, to be delivered by courier to the ANBU department.

"When an appropriate team of ANBU trackers are available, a high priority mission will be taken immediately. The participants of this mission are hereby ordered to find and bring back Tsunade the Sannin to Konoha, to be promoted to Fifth Hokage status. This is an S rank diplomatic mission of the highest priority."

He sighed and stamped the letter before setting it upon the top of the desk. After he finished, he took another deep drink of his poison before continuing to write on a separate scroll.

"Hereafter this date, Naruto Uzumaki, once prodigious genin of Konoha shall be considered a traitor, an enemy, and a deserter. Any who have information of his whereabouts may contact the Hokage's office of Konoha for a reward. Naruto is to be captured alive at all costs, but a return of the body will still be rewarded.

Description:

Naruto Uzumaki, age 13, height 5'4"

White hair, red or blue eyes

Wears black cloak and hood

Has unique metal clawed gauntlets

Estimated difficultly level: S"

With that, Jiraiya angrily stamped the scroll shut and set it next to the letter he finished. With that, he finished off his liquor and mordantly broke the glass upon the floor of the office. He cursed fate, he cursed the gods, he cursed everything. He left the office for the final time, coming out of the window only to be drenched again and enshrouded by the darkened skies; he quickly left the village to its fate under the cover of the blackened night sky which provided no light whatsoever, not wanting to speak to anymore ninjas or villagers. He could only hope that Tsunade would be able to lead this village to its former glory. He, on the other hand, had some unfinished business to take care of…

A/N:It took a bit longer than anticipated. But I'm okay with that. I hope the extra time given to this chapter is forgivable with the excessive content.

Although my story is chunky, and I do apologize for the format, this is how I write. In standard story-telling English, stories are written as paragraphs. Trust me, read Lord of the Rings and you'll think my paragraphs are short. I know it's less practical for fan-fiction on the internet and harder to follow due to the format, but please, this is how I must practice my writing skills, and I hope you can all respect it, and see past this minor obstruction in order to fully enjoy the story. I will try to organize my other stories in a more "user-friendly" way, though.

Secondly, I do also apologize for the minor mistakes. I don't have an editor, and typically if I make the mistake, chances are I understand what I meant, but the majority of people don't, or in one case as one helpful guy pointed out, I may repeat the same phrase unintentionally without notice. I do try to fix my mistakes, so bear with me.

And lastly, perhaps the greatest help I've received as of late is from another helpful reviewer, who mentioned how I don't give enough imagery in parts of my story. I totally agreed with this person, of course. Although in many dramas, imagery isn't as important as characters, I agree that I should have put more detail into the imagery. It's like imagery, then long instances of character dialogue and rambling, then a little more imagery, and so on. I'm sorry, but I am trying to improve.

In any case, it was my initial plan to occupy everything in this chapter and chapter three into one long chapter, but it was too long, so I'm trying to get this one out ASAP so you readers can have the dual-chapter material. And trust me, this is good material.

Please, any mistakes you notice should be told to me. I am trying to improve, my fellows.

On a side note, I wanted to mention that I will upload the first chapter of my new story before the fifth chapter of this one. Trust me, if you like this story, you should read the other one whenever it is uploaded and available.

On one last note, I'd like to say that I did take one of Naruto's new powers revealed in this chapter from a video game, and altered it slightly to fit this fiction. The "chakra spike" you will inevitably read about is based after the [Prototype] power where Alex Mercer sends a group of spikes through the ground and impales a target or group of targets with a group of large spikes.

I'd like to thank you all for sticking with the story. I will continue this, and write up chapters more quickly with more reviews. I hope you liked it, because I enjoyed writing it thus far.


	5. Degeneration into Obscurity

Guess what? There's another chapter waiting for you to read it. Go ahead. It beckons.

Chapter 5: Degeneration into Obscurity

A panting and exhausted white-haired boy ceased his mad sprinting in the twilight of late evening, seeing a red, distant setting sun vaguely through the gray cloud cover. He collapsed entirely onto his hands and knees, luckily next to a natural spring flowing to the west. The boy, wrapped in black clothing and armor, lowered his scarf and removed his gauntlets with haste and took handfuls of the cool, crisp water to splash on his face and drink deeply of. After a few minutes' respite, he leaned back still panting into a tree of dark colored bark, something unlike the light-colored trees of his old home. The air was cooler here, a sharp wind would bite and the skin, unlike the warmer temperature he was accustomed to.

His icy blue eyes gazed at the water, darkening with the setting sun but reflecting the redness of it as well, the light of the distant orb of fire dancing over the rippling creek. He could see in his reflection: his pupils were now both slit, like a cat or reptile's eyes would be. He looked at his hands and saw slightly pointed nails, surprising himself. He chuckled once, then twice, and then fell silent again, still staring at his hands, and beyond that, the water. The sky above now only showed minimal red, vast amounts of purple and black, with a few pockets of glistening stars in the distance, their light dancing upon the black heavens. After so many days in bleak darkness, it felt strange to Naruto to see the sky once again.

He didn't know what to do now. He wasn't accustomed to living without a semi-permanent dwelling. Without his shoddy apartment, he didn't know what to think. He had the materials and skills needed to survive out here, but the will to stay was… absent. He didn't like the prospect of living forever in forests and mountains. Perhaps after he destroyed Konohagakure, he would build a throne on the ashes and rule his own ghost town… Naruto absentmindedly chuckled again at this prospect.

What? Build a throne atop the ashes of war and vengeance? What could be reaped from such a thing? Sow seeds of nothing to beget nothing… Maybe I'll rebuild a better village, along with that aforementioned throne, yes. Oh, the enemies of Konoha would love to send colonists to my city, if only they knew who I was, where I was from. Ha, the irony of it all… What should I do?

…Avenge thyself…

No… I can't do that yet. I'm not powerful enough. Jiraiya would beat me outright, as would many of the stronger jounin. No… I need to train. I need to better control the Kyuubi, and then I would be unstoppable. Ha. Those ingrates will bow before me… in fact, their heads will be on the ground! And after they all die and my revenge is sated, I will build a throne of bones atop the ashes of their homes! Ha!

The boy's face brightened up with malicious glee, although it couldn't be seen in the darkness of dusk. The red of the setting sun was a vague hue far on the purple and black horizon of night.

'Naruto…'

The boy shot up and left his gauntlets where they were on the grass, prepared to take on any attackers the old-fashioned way.

'Naruto… Thine fortune gleams impressively now that I may speak to thou…'

The boy frantically searched and poured his chakra into a mist to detect any living entity within a few kilometer radius around him. He couldn't feel a thing near him, only a small village a fair distance away to the north, and that lack of detection did not help to calm his nerves. He drew a single kunai and held it backwards, ready to strike or defend at a split-second's notice. He frantically turned his head and listened, waiting for another sound. He couldn't hear anything but his heart.

'Release thine weapon, Naruto.'

For some reason, beyond all of Naruto's understanding, he put the kunai away. He was tense and on guard, he didn't know what would happen next.

'Calm thyself, child.'

Naruto almost immediately calmed, relaxed his body and slowly sat back down against the tree. He was powerless against this voice that beckoned his cooperation with a silky smooth voice, like pure honey. He couldn't resist it. Nonetheless, beyond the surface calmness, Naruto was still worried. Who could this be? Who made him so defenseless? Who was this person toying with him!?

'Naruto, thou knows who it is thou now harkens to...'

Realization dawned on Naruto when he felt a bit of his own power surge for a moment against his will, and for a fraction of a second his eyes glowed red. It was…

'Yes, Naruto, it is I, the Kyuubi no Kitsune.'

Only a short moment of shocked silence in the forest passed before Naruto tensed again and grasped his kunai knife.

"Lies! Who are you!? Show yourself!"

'My ability to do that remains naught, young human. Thou can only heed me through thine own mind.'

"It cannot be… The Kyuubi has never spoken to me. There's no reason for it to speak to me now. What trickery is this?"

Naruto heard a soft chuckle echoing around him. He couldn't place the source of it.

'It is not trickery thou hears, Naruto, but truths.'

"Then… how…"

'Thou has proclaimed thyself master o'er my powers as of late, and this has reawakened a once dormant connection.'

"So… I awakened you?"

Again, a chuckle resounded. Naruto's brow furrowed slightly in annoyance, or perhaps anger.

'Nay, child, thou has reopened a direct link between thyself and I, but I have ne'er been dormant. Your instincts, your precognition, the "voice in your head," even the ever-ready demon powers…'

"That was all you?"

'Correct.'

"Well… then…" Naruto struggled to find words. This was absolutely, unequivocally bizarre and unexpected. "You are supposed to be an evil creature; you've killed many men in your time in our world. Why do you speak to me now, and why do you help me? What do you have to gain from this?"

'Ever sharp, mortal, thine proves thyself. I was not master o'er my body those dreaded days before I was sealed in thine body. I was controlled by a mortal with the Sharingan…'

"An Uchiha? Why would they do that to their own village?"

'It wasn't an Uchiha that lived in thine homeland, but an outcast Uchiha. I know not who that mortal is, or was, but I promise that he shan't rest until Konohagakure is annihilated.'

"I see… But that doesn't explain why you've assisted me."

'Thou art connected to mine self, Naruto. If thine life perishes, then so, too, shall mine.'

"So you only help yourself, after all…" Naruto quickly assumed with a hint of… was it, perhaps, disappointment? Disappointment that yet another mentor-figure is only using him?

'Thou art one with me, helping myself is to bring thine fortune, child. I have never led thou astray. I have never allowed trickery or misfortune to befall us. I am in all truth the only true friend thine has, Naruto.'

"You… are…" Naruto struggled for words to describe what he wanted to say. He couldn't argue with the demon, it was technically correct. "You are correct, demon…"

'And of course, now that we may speak freely, I will be able to pass mine knowledge unto thou, to make thine privy to ancient powers and secrets. Does thou accept mine offer? It comes with no price to be paid, other than our continued survival.'

"Yes… I accept…" Naruto said almost ethereally, feeling some indescribable emotion wash over him. Was it relief that he knew his demon was complacent rather than vengeful? Was it happiness he had a real ally? Was it… excitement over the powers he would attain?

'Then thou shalt be my son, and I shalt be thine God, Naruto Uzumaki… No longer art thou a ninja of Konohagakure, the accursed village hidden amongst the leaves, but now the title I bestow upon thou is 'Bringer of Chaos.''

"I shall be your Bringer of Chaos, master. I will rock the foundations of the ninja world with my every step, and show those rotten souls true power…"

'Naruto, I am not thine master, only a mentor, a guide… I am, to thou, Father of Pandemonium, just as thine art my Child of Chaos.'

"As you say… Father."

'I will bring thine wrath across the world, my son… Go forth, my Bringer of Chaos, find that village to the north-east. Rest there in peace, and I will watch over thine self as I have always done…'

Naruto nodded, somehow assured that the demon, his new "father", would understand his acceptance. Naruto stood gracefully despite his fatigue and began his short trek to the nearby village, feeling something he hadn't felt in a while… pride.

For the third time in only a short span of days, the council of Konoha was gathered to yet again argue over a young man, a young man whose life they believed was in the balance, depending on the choices made in that room. Arguments were rampant, shouting was mutual, and it was utter anarchy and chaos, not even the ranking officials could stop the onslaught of absolute frenzied, bickering people. Many of them still wearing funeral clothing, in fact, as the Hokage's funeral happened only a few hours earlier. A blonde man rose, however, disregarding the fervent inhospitality that consumed those around him, and approached the ranking officials, those who would take care of Konoha while Tsunade was being sought out. With a few unheard words amidst the chaos and a nod, the blond man, Inoichi Yamanaka, made a single gesture to another ninja who seemed halfway between sulking and napping, which made a single hand seal that caused every bickering madman to silence and cease all movement. "Silence, yourselves, morons, the matters we have to discuss are far too important to waste another moment on this nonsense."

"Yamanaka-san! You dare to—"

"I SAID SILENCE."

At that, the rather vocal outburst was silenced with a look of disdain. Nobody dared test him further, though.

"We'll go over the facts ONLY ONE more time," he stressed with anger before continuing, "Then, and only then, will we CALMLY decide on our course of action. Understand?"

He had looks thrown in his direction, but he knew none would defy him as senior interrogator in the Torture and Interrogation department. He could, after all, call in a few favors from his friend Ibiki, senior torturer.

"If you will all comply then by all means, Nara-san, release them." Another nod and they were released from temporarily paralysis.

"Since Naruto was court martialed," Inoichi began slowly with easily detectable disappointment in his voice, "He was thrown out of the funeral procession of the Hokage, whom he loved as a grandfather, proceeded to destroy about a quarter of the village's infrastructure while people were at aforementioned funeral, assaulted Jiraiya the Toad Sannin, who then asked a team consisting of Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, Neji Hyuuga, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara to follow him." Inoichi paused while he watched with some sympathy as Shikamaru's father and Kakashi himself shifted with a bit of discomfort and worry. "This team confronted the gate guards whom Naruto had killed moments prior, before chasing him down, leading to Neji receiving a concussion, Shikamaru losing a leg and effectively losing his career as field ninja, and ultimately Sasuke lost his left arm, left leg, and half of his right leg along with receiving third degree burns over seventy percent of his body. It is known that before Jiraiya-sama left Konoha, as per duty as ranking ninja, he issued a bounty for Naruto promising a substantial reward if he should be returned alive, but will also reward those who return his body."

He watched as people nodded across the room, nobody had any reason to interject, yet. Everything thus far was proven facts and eyewitness accounts.

"Now, as per Jiraiya-sama's bounty letter insinuated, he wants the boy alive, preferably. We will increase the bounty, but we do want him alive, so we will keep the 'alive' reward higher than the 'dead' reward." This was when about a quarter of the room went berserk and began calling for his death. Inoichi sighed and held his hand up, ready to signal Nara to paralyze them all when they got the message and silenced themselves of their own accords. "Good. I don't care what you people want. Until we get a new Hokage, what Jiraiya writes and says himself is for all intents and purposes, the law. So stop this now. The ONLY people who I would consider listening to on this matter are Kakashi, the boy's ex-sensei and sensei of Sasuke, Tsume Inuzuka, mother of Kiba, the first known victim, or Shikaku, father of Shikamaru. Any objections?"

Surprisingly, the leader of the Nara clan stood with some burden causing his shoulders to slump a bit more than usual. "Inoichi-san… I would personally offer my own clan's wealth to increase the bounty on the boy's head… to be brought back alive… and if you would allow me to oversee his punishment." This shocked everyone in the room. The passive Shikaku Nara, opting to personally see to someone he wanted punished? His son was crippled by the boy, but it was still surprising to see him react so harshly. Inoichi nodded at him, affirming his request. The recorder of the council wrote this on a separate paper, an official one, waiting for a Hokage's approval.

Tsume stood with anger alongside her friend and son's ex-sensei Kurenai. "I would also add my wealth for the same reason. I want him to beg for death for what he did to my son."

"Tsume-san, I understand your opinion, but the late Hokage said himself…"

"I KNOW full and well what he said! But the boy dug his own grave. You can't prevent my clan from pooling our resources for the same reason Nara-san is pooling his. The only difference is that… Shikaku still has his boy…" Tsume, leader of the ever-aggressive and diligent Inuzuka clan shed hot tears yet again, everyone feeling a twisted, sick pity for her and her loss. It was uncomfortable in the extreme seeing such a renowned aggressor ninja reduced to tears like that.

Inoichi's mouth formed a firm line and nodded at the silently weeping woman when the recorder again wrote another official form.

Kakashi stood alongside Shikaku. "On Sasuke's behalf, I would pool part of the Uchiha's wealth into searching for Naruto as well… on my behalf, I would ask that I be sent on any mission regarding my ex-student. I would like the chance to speak to him and perhaps persuade him to come back."

"You know, Kakashi, your student wouldn't give a rat's ass about what you said. He would probably kill you first, and never question it," Tsume said hotly, still emotional.

Kakashi sighed and his visible eye flickered towards the floor for a moment, a faint shadow of regret passing over him. "It's the least I owe him, then, to try."

Inoichi nodded, and again the recorder wrote another official-looking paper for the next Hokage to approve.

"Finally… We are still recuperating from the invasion. We cannot spare hunter-ninja or ANBU to search for Naruto in our current state of affairs. We barely have enough to send a single squad out after Tsunade, and that has left us rather low on guards. Perhaps later, after reconstruction—"

The floor burst forth a torrent of bickering and shouting and general disapproval, again. Inoichi sighed; he was in for a rough night…

In another part of Konohagakure, in the hospital there sat a group of younger genin and recently promoted chunin waiting for word of their friends, currently being treated by doctors and surgeons. Most had tear stains, red eyes, and disheveled appearances. Choji was shaking, he had seen Kurenai return to him at the gates with a procession of ninja who had recently cleaned up the dead gate guards, he had seen her bring back a broken and bleeding Shikamaru, his closest friend. He immediately shut everything out at that point; at least until he realized what Kurenai was shouting at him, that Shikamaru needed medical attention, he would live… He had since waited in the hospital for his friend to wake up. The other were worried, Tenten was angry, however. Angry that the freak Neji had been ordered to find had the gall and the skill to not only nearly kill Neji during the finals, but give him a concussion so soon afterward, too. She was fuming, but it was all a cover, she didn't want anyone to see her worried for that pretentious… Neji, her secretly-beloved friend and team mate. Rock Lee was devastated, and he was uncharacteristically quiet, not having said a word as of late. Nobody knew what to make of him, but sadly enough, they were a bit relieved he wasn't shouting about his flames of youth for once. Sakura was distressed. That monster her mother always told her about did exactly what her mother said it would, and it nearly cost Sasuke his life, but his career as ninja was over. Sakura had no team, she wondered if her career was over too. Ino was hysterical about Sasuke and her teammate Shikamaru. As much as she claimed to find him annoying, she did care for his wellbeing.

In silence, they sat for hours, some coming and going, but mostly staying whole as a group. It was hours later after Sasuke had been brought back by Kakashi that Lee tried to begin a conversation. "Why did he do this?" The others turned to him, questioningly, but remained silent in their own thoughts. "I mean, why… This is his home, we are his allies… why would he…" He was interrupted by an arriving Kakashi, looking ever worse for wear, the fatigue and remorse evident in his revealed eye. "Because, Lee, he never saw us as his friends. For his entire life, he's been on the outside looking in. And this is what he's been brought to, what he's been pushed to…" The older ninja inhaled and exhaled slowly while tilting his head back to stare at the artificial, perpetual flickering of the light fixtures. "It wasn't his choice, really. We made him exactly what he is. And now we have to live with the consequences." Sakura looked up with tear-stained cheeks.

"Sensei, what are they going to do to Naruto? It doesn't matter how it was brought about, he still did terrible things."

Kakashi sighed again. "There's a massive bounty on his head for him to be returned alive at all costs. When we have more available resources, we will send hunters after him. He will be dealt with… I promise you, Sakura, and all of you. Besides that, however, I have messages from your parents. You need to meet them at your homes; they wish to speak to you, all of you. So off you go, you'll see Sasuke and Shikamaru and Neji later, and they will be glad to see you immediately when they awaken, I assure you." The genin nodded and slowly rose and gloomily lurked off into the darkness that permeated the earth outside the artificial lights of the hospital.

A good distance away from the village of Konoha, in a small trading town, there was a rather seedy tavern. It was a normal, dreary, bleak tavern, the kind where people don't look up at whoever enters and nobody speaks loudly, the kind where secret, black-market deals are made and illegal plots are fashioned. It was here that Jiraiya found himself, drinking some sake in a dank corner, away from view like most other guests, but unlike them he watched the entrance exclusively instead of looking down. The aged Sannin continued drinking his hot rice liquor in rather unsavory solitude; the tavern had an awful smell about it, almost the smell of rot and decay, it befouled even the pricey drink he sipped so casually. He had to leave the window next to him open to help keep the stench at bay. He didn't want to be here any longer than necessary, that was for sure, but he may just ask the bartender for a bottle of this savory drink before leaving… it was rather delicious, he wouldn't mind having a little liquid comfort on the road. But he had to focus at the moment; he was waiting for a message to arrive at any moment. It was then that he caught the slightest bit of movement in the darkness of the night outside, and narrowed is eyes. The sky was still dark and cloudy, even this far away from Konoha, so there was absolutely no natural light outside. In fact, he doubted anyone here noticed the small black bird land on the windowsill next to him, as its charcoal black coat allowed it to blend in perfectly with the night outside the window. It had a small scroll in its claw which it dropped discreetly into Jiraiya's hand before taking flight again. Jiraiya watched this small black messenger bird take flight and disappear into the blackness. His informant must have had a good reason not to show like originally planned to send a messenger bird in his stead.

Successful in remaining undetected amongst the drunkards, Jiraiya inconspicuously opened the small scroll to read the few words written there in rather scratchy script. As he read it, he smiled just a bit. He stood and pocketed the scroll, walked by the bartender and asked for a bottle of the hot sake to bring on the road with him. With his drink at hand, he walked out the door of the stench-filled tavern and walked further north. If he had the spirit just a bit more in his blood, he would probably be dancing.

One of his informants had seen Naruto enter an inn this evening in a small town many leagues to the north. Jiraiya was surprised that his student had travelled so far, he was expecting Naruto to show around here, nearly ten hours away from the town Naruto was in. It was dark, but it was still at least three hours to midnight. Jiraiya would travel as far as he could handle before sleeping for the night. He wanted to find Naruto as soon as possible…

It was later that same black night that a barely detectable shadow, using the utmost stealth imaginable, hopped from building to building amongst the rooftops of Konoha. Although the ANBU and jounin of the village were patrolling with lights, the shadow seemed to evade them all, nobody knew it was there. This being went straight for the hospital, weaving through patrols of Konoha ninja and floodlights, not having to worry about natural light at the moment, which made this an absolute perfect time to sneak in. Who would be stupid enough, or skilled enough, to sneak in so soon after a semi-successful invasion when Konoha was on high alert? Konoha would be on the lookout, but they had no idea that a hawk now stalked through their town looking for its prey. At the hospital, the figure ran up the wall to the third floor and stopped to peek into a window. Not seeing anything of interest through that window, the figure circled around the third floor outside the building, having to hide from well-lit windows. It took its sweet time, not wanting to be detected, no, that would ruin the objective.

Finally it found the room it was looking for. Making sure it was empty, the figure stealthily used a weak jutsu to force the lock open and climb inside the hospital room. The figure made sure the door to the room was locked; it was fairly certain nobody would leave this room unlocked; in fact, the figure doubted there wasn't an ANBU detail five feet away on the other side of that door. Regardless, the figure turned toward the unconscious ninja in the room. Barely able to be seen, the figure could see what he needed to in the faint light that came in through the cracks under the door. It could see tufts of black spikey hair on a severely bandaged and burnt face. The figure on the medical gurney seemed to be missing a leg and a half along with an arm. Smirking, the figure grabbed a needle and inserted it into the IV drip leading to the arm of the severely injured Sasuke Uchiha. He wouldn't be waking up any time soon.

The figure got to work and opened a sealing scroll that was carried on its form. Once unsealed, a small cloud of silent smoke faded to reveal a jar filled with preservative fluid and a scalpel among a few other medical instruments like sanitary gloves, scissors, needles, threading for stitches, various salves, and a bone saw. The figure donned his gloves and picked up the scalpel with its left hand, leaning over the Uchiha using his right hand to keep the boy's eyelids open. Making careful incisions to prevent damage, the figure worked on the boy's eyes for only a few minutes before he put the bloodied scalpel down on the scroll the figure brought. The figure carefully plucked the Sharingan eyes from the skull of the last loyal Uchiha and plopped each into the jar of yellow-green fluid. Smirking, the shadow screwed the lid on tightly and took off his gloves to seal it all back in the small scroll and put it back in the pack it was brought in.

Successful, the figure went toward the window and smirked as a distant light barely flashed over the room. Long white hair pulled into a ponytail and thick-wired glasses glared for a moment on a smirking face near the window as the torn, bloodied and eyeless visage of Sasuke was sleeping soundly on his gurney briefly before the light passed, the operator far too distant to see inside the hospital room.

'Orochimaru-sama, you will have what you want, this I promise you…'

With this, the agent of Orochimaru fled the hospital room and the village, again weaving through the guards and their lights, making it to the safety of the gigantic forest before speeding towards Otogakure, where Orochimaru now resided.

Mere hours later, Naruto awakened in his room at the nameless inn at the northern village, being disturbed by a slight red light in the east-facing window; he could see the red signifying the coming sun. It had been so long in the darkness that he'd almost forgotten the sun existed entirely… and it tempted him to summon the shadows again to hide himself away from the offending celestial body. He could feel the Kyuubi's entertainment with his thoughts. 'Now, now, Naruto, it wouldn't be fortunate to let the world know where thine walks… yet.'

Naruto agreed silently and made to lift himself up in his bed when he tensed and felt something off—very off. The sixth sense of the Kyuubi's design immediately began going haywire. Without a second thought, the boy quickly reattached his pack and satchel and silently retreated into the quiet darkness in the corner of the room, still hidden as the sun had yet to fully arise. Right as he became still, the door to his room burst open and a group of men entered with swords drawn and immediately went for the bed… which was empty.

"Boss, I know he was here! I saw him check in myself!"

"I know, and I believe you, Akio, but know that if we don't find him…"

"No, Boss! I swear we'll find him. He can't have gone too far! Spread out and find him!"

Naruto watched the "boss" nod and watch his men spread throughout the apartment, looking for anything out of the ordinary. The sun was rising, and his small shadowed area was growing smaller and smaller. Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to move enough without causing attention to be drawn to him, so his first move would be his most important. Naruto detected others around the inn, he had to do this quietly, lest the twenty or so other men would come running for him. He could go for the leader directly, but then the young man, Akio, would be there to stab Naruto in the back immediately. He could do the same to Akio, but the boss would react. The other four men would be easier targets, but then everyone else in the room would be ready for him… He couldn't summon his darkness, it used far too much chakra and others would know he was here. Or… his first move could be his last, using his chakra spike, carefully. Naruto began gathering chakra when suddenly the younger man Akio turned toward him—he was a ninja, he could detect chakra!

"Boss! In the corner!"

Everyone turned and charged toward the shadow just revealed, Naruto knew he was going to lose… and possibly die. His instincts bid him run.

'Naruto, thou cannot assault all these men alone. Flee through the window, quickly!'

Naruto jumped through the window nearly thirty feet above the road, causing passerby to look up in shock and awe at the ghostly black figure flying overhead that pelted them with shards of glass. The figure landed on a roof across the street, continuing to flee; after him chased the young ninja, Akio. Naruto knew he could overpower one low-level ninja, it would be easy. Naruto, while fleeing from the man running after him, cast a shadow clone nearby, out of sight, and stopped his running, where the enemy ninja stopped to confront him. The enemy gloated at the young boy.

"Did you think you could escape genin? You should know not to leave your village; others may just take advantage of you, or leave you for dead."

Naruto stared impassively at the man, when the gloating suddenly turned to fear when he saw the eyes of his prey glow red for a brief moment; the man knew it wasn't the red morning sun.

"I would say the same to you, weakling."

With that, Akio felt a severing pain shoot through his body and he felt himself scream out of compulsion, but his mouth was covered by a metal claw—his prey had made a physical clone without him noticing! He glanced down in a pain-induced haze of red and saw the other clawed gauntlet of the clone sticking out of his abdomen. The shock was evident on his face as he died and slid off of the clones arm and fell to the ground with a thick, heavy, squelching thud. The clone dispersed as per Naruto's will after gathering all the useful supplies and the boy, satchel now partially restocked, jumped down to the street, done with his business for now. He couldn't leave just yet; he needed a little more supplies before continuing on his trek. However, his plans were cut short when both ends of the street he was on became filled with bandits, and the windows of the building he was just above had archers ready to impale his body with arrows. He was trapped; he knew he couldn't defend against more than two archers at best.

Luck was on his side, apparently, as one group of bandits at the edge of the road began screaming in pain as a hail of kunai stabbed them all in vital areas, and everyone turned towards their death rattles and rasps, leaving their attention unfocused. At the other end of the street, a rather shapely female ninja wrapped in skin-tight black leather and light armor appeared and laid waste to the bandits. The five archers in the building took their shots, but she deflected two with her metal vambraces and weaved in mid-air through the other three shots. Suffice to say, Naruto was impressed, and his danger-sense was less and less profound, although it still bid him to run.

The female ninja threw two kunai at two of the closest archers and hit them dead-on, and Naruto seeing the distraction jumped up to the windows in a blink of an eye and slashed at two of their throats with a kunai. He leapt at the final archer who was drawing a knife when he noticed the female ninja was already behind him, her kunai prepared to strike. They hit him at the same time, the man gurgled and fell dead quickly.

Naruto stood steadfast, gauntlets at the ready to rip the ninja apart if necessary, but they both heard a ruckus down below and turned to see the original group with the "boss" leading them, along with at least thirty other warriors.

"You! Boy! You killed my son Akio in cold blood, you son of a bitch! I'll have your head stuffed and put on my mantle for what you did! GET HIM!" screamed the delusional bandit leader.

Four of the bandits shot bolts from crossbows at the duo, which easily dodged it and jumped back down to the ground. Naruto's sixth sense almost forced him to step away from the hostile mob and begin running, but he waited to see how the woman would react. He turned to look at her but saw her running down the street looking back at him, as if beckoning. She was fast.

Naruto chased after her, eager to leave the charging bandit clan behind. He ran past some of the bodies from earlier and quickly grabbed some money and supply pouches off of their belts while fleeing. He followed the woman, barely fast enough to keep at her current speed, but both eventually made it through the winding streets of the town and fled into the forest, one after the other. Naruto's danger sense continued to throb with disconcerting worry, the Kyuubi practically doing the same in his head. It wouldn't be fortunate for the demon's Bringer of Chaos to die so soon, after all, especially if it would die with the boy.

Half a mile away, the woman stopped for a rest, and turned toward Naruto as he landed behind her. She lowered her black cloth mask and revealed rather moist red lips, curled into a satisfied grin on a rather young face that was framed by flowing locks of ruby hair. She couldn't have been more than three years older than Naruto.

"Good, it seems you can keep up with me after all."

Naruto held his stance, ever combat-ready. "Who are you?" It wasn't a question; the girl could tell he would rend her apart with his claws if she exuded any type of hostility.

"I'm a friend, moron! I saved you back there!"

"That doesn't answer my question. And why would you bother? What do you gain from this?" Naruto defensively questioned, not leaving his pose.

"Fine, ungrateful little… I'm known as Kyoko. And you stole a bounty from me, boy. That boy you killed, Akio, had a rather hefty price on his head in Amegakure. By now they're probably burning his body, which cost me a rather sweet payday. So you owe me, brat," the barely older kunoichi huffed at Naruto, who was rather confused, but still on guard.

"What do you expect me to do about it?" asked Naruto, defensively.

"Well, you at least owe me food, a safe journey, and company. It's the least you can do for stealing my kill and my money."

Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion and slight annoyance. "I don't need you following me around."

The older girl pouted and angrily responded with her hands on her hips, "You owe me!"

Naruto stood his ground with his claws still outstretched at his sides, but he clenched his fists and walked past her, she was of little consequence to him. She wasn't hostile, although his danger sense kept throbbing every now and then; he was still keeping a metaphorical eye on her. Kyoko, angered at his callous disregard, moved to follow him, and noticed a few splotches of blood dripping from him as he passed, discoloring the green ground. She didn't see him hit by their mutual enemies, so her eyes narrowed slightly in confusion, but she followed him regardless.

"So, what's your name?"

She met only silence.

"You know I'll keep asking until you answer," she sweetly pouted, knowing the boy had little patience for such things.

"…I am… Naruto."

"Naruto, eh? That's unique," she grinned at him from behind, knowing he wouldn't respond with anything.

"So where are you going?"

At this he stopped and turned on his heel, surprising Kyoko and causing her to stumble and fall backwards onto her rear. "Look, girl, I have not the patience for you or your games. I thank you for saving me, and I'm… regretful for taking your bounty. But for the love of the gods, leave me alone or I will kill you." At this, he saw the girl's eyes narrow dangerously as she appeared behind Naruto with a kunai to his kidney, poking his side through the cloak he wore, her other arm wrapped around his neck suggestively while her face rested on his shoulder. His eyes widened beneath the shadows of his hood as he quietly cursed and his danger sense was spiking, Kyuubi was about to interfere if necessary. He hadn't been able to react to her speed. His power was nothing if he couldn't hit her.

"Don't you treat me like garbage, _boy_, I am able to take care of myself," she threatened, but then pulled back and released Naruto from her grip. "Besides, I'm not asking much," she continued happily as if nothing happened. "I only want a travelling companion."

'Don't heed her word, lightly, my child. She has an ulterior motive for following thine footsteps. Be ever wary, Naruto.'

Yes, my father. I know she is hiding something… but what?

Naruto turned towards her again. He knew he didn't have a choice; she would just follow him and pester him regardless. He nodded at her and he saw satisfaction dance across her smooth features. He began walking again, expecting silence to befall their rather odd partnership.

"…so where are we going?"

Naruto outwardly grunted in frustration, but continued walking much to Kyoko's dismay. Why won't she be quiet!? At this rate I'll just kill her come nightfall… if I can deal with her until then.

The Kyuubi watched and listened silently from inside Naruto, the danger sense keeping him alert and wary of the girl.

"So, Itachi, how do you reckon we find that kid? He could be anywhere by now."

"Hn… I have my ways."

"You know, we'll have to report to our leader one of these days… and he won't appreciate that we lost the Kyuubi kid to the wilderness."

"We'll know where he is shortly, Kisame. Do not worry."

"Don't worry? There's thousands of leagues of wilderness north of Konoha, he could've gone east or west, or further north. How am I not to worry?"

"If we do not find Naruto by the time we are to contact our leader, then I shall speak to him personally."

"Damn right. I'm not going to be the bearer of bad news to him."

"Hn…"

"What is it, Itachi?"

"My messenger arrives."

"What? Oh— another of your black messenger birds. What's so important that you were waiting for that? We could've been searching by now!"

"Patience, Kisame…"

"Well, what does it say?"

"…We will find Naruto north-east, only about three days' travel away."

"Wow! You got an informant, Itachi? I didn't know you were holding out on me. And this isn't the first time, either. I've seen you get those messages before."

"…It isn't one of mine, however. It's one of Jiraiya's spies that I've "convinced" to help us."

"That's even better."

"Jiraiya is also heading for the boy, however. We should get going."

"Damn it! How far is he from the Kyuubi kid?"

"He is roughly a day and a half ahead of us."

"Well, we have a load of running to do, eh?"

"It would seem so."

"How will we know when we're close to him?"

"He has a travelling companion… we'll recognize her easily. Besides, I'll be receiving more of these messages to keep us updated on his position."

"Good… well, let's get to it, buddy boy."

"Hn…"

"Tsunade-sama, as I've said, this is an _order_. You cannot disobey a direct order. You may have power over all ranking ninja normally, but the will of the Hokage cannot be questioned."

"And I said to fuck off," a blond, buxom woman slurred at the Konoha ANBU that confronted her with his squad.

"Lady Tsunade, perhaps we should listen to them…"

"Shizune! Be quiet girl, I'm…" she trailed off and took a swig of her bottle. "I'm trying to negotiate here!"

Shizune's eye twitched in annoyance and embarrassment. With her was a pig that oinked as if it were embarrassed as well. The ANBU had found them at a bar in a town famous, or perhaps notorious, for its casinos, and told them that the late Hokage had commanded her to take up his mantle, there was no room for negotiating out of that.

"Tsunade-sama, your village is in peril and your people are lost without a powerful leader. We need you there."

"Yeah well I never asked for the job. Give it to someone else…"

The ANBU sighed and nodded as one of the ANBU behind him began going through hand seals. Shizune saw and recognized the seals; she knew they were going to knock her out and drag her sorry ass back. If Tsunade were sober, she may have sensed the hand seals being obscured from her sight.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, but we have further orders from Jiraiya, who was temporarily in charge before he left."

"Yeah? And what did that pervert command?"

"He told us that if you didn't cooperate…" the ANBU commander trailed off as his subordinate rushed around him and slammed a seal into Tsunade, causing her chakra to almost abandon her as she was approaching unconsciousness. "That we were to bring you back by force. You are the new Hokage whether you like it or not."

"You… bastards… Shizune! Tell Jiraiya that… I will kick his… ass… for this…" and with that, Tsunade fell to the ground, silent as a log, leaving an embarrassed Shizune being escorted by the black ops ninja from her home village. The sun was high in the sky, it would be near dusk by the time they reached the village. She only hoped that the seal they hit her with would hold, if it didn't, all hell would break loose when she woke up…

Two days later, it was dusk. The sun had already set, leaving the sky a purple hue on the distant horizon that could barely be seen through the dense, verdant foliage. Next to a small creek, Naruto crouched, drinking the water graciously while his companion Kyoko set up a warm fire to keep the cool, late-year breeze at bay. She began to pull out some supplies from her own bag, including a few pots and food scrolls. She joined Naruto at the creek and filled her pot with water and began fishing next to the younger, cloaked figure that was washing his hands in the crisp and cold water, runoff from the snowy mountains, probably. It was the first time in a while she'd seen his hands, he was almost always wearing those gauntlets, which have probably more blood on them than any other piece of equipment the boy carried. His hood was down, another rare sight to Kyoko, and only his scarf was obscuring his face from her sight. She watched him intently as he used a spare cloth to wet and wipe his face and white hair, which was pretty long for a young man. It was wild, a bit spiky, but heavy enough from the weight of it that it stayed down for the most part. The wetness of the cloth made it cling to his scalp closely. He glanced at his companion Kyoko who blushed and looked away, having caught a couple fish already; she left him alone to go prepare the food.

Soon, the sky was black with pinpricks of twinkling light dotting the great blackness while the two figures hunched near their fire, eating the prepared fish stew.

"So, is it palatable this time, Naruto?"

The boy nodded. He was facing away from her, his back to the fire; she still wasn't allowed to see his face. She heard the tell-tale slurping of his finished meal before he pulled his scarf up and returned his empty bowl to the scroll. She quickly finished her meal as well. The awkward duo sat in silence for nearly half an hour, Naruto cleaning his segmented metal gauntlets and scavenged ninja supplies to keep them from rusting or dulling. Kyoko watched him for what seemed like forever to her, entranced by the gentle, circular motions of his hand endlessly polishing the metal.

"Naruto?"

The boy kept polishing but he glanced at her, his icy blue orbs flickering at her across the top of the dancing fire, his face silhouetted by flames and darkness. His hair was glowing red from the hue of the flame. But that did not deter her. She took his silence as a sign to continue.

"…When we first met, I noticed you weren't hit by any of the bandits, but when we left the village, you had blood dripping off of you. And you killed cleanly with kunai and a shadow clone at one point, there was no enemy blood on you."

Naruto's eyes slanted ever so slightly and his gaze returned to his now-gleaming gauntlets, barely reflecting the fire's orange glow.

"You never applied any bandages or used any medical supplies or jutsu. Are you okay?"

He glanced at her again, his eyes still narrowed. "I'm fine."

"Then why were you bleeding, Naruto?"

She met only silence. She noticed he stopped polishing his gauntlet, he just sat there and stared at the sharp metal. There was a look in his eye, she couldn't tell because of the flickering light of the fire, but it was… perhaps it was sadness? She couldn't pinpoint the passing expression before his partially-covered face returned to stone.

"…Why do you hide behind your mask, Naruto?"

"Why do you ask so many questions!?" he hissed back, glaring at her. She saw his eyes flash red before returning to icy blue once more.

"Because… I just want to know if you're hurt. I can help…" she looked at him in the eye. He glared at her glowing face, silhouetted by the warm hues of the fire, her face marred with a frown and eyes that seemed to portray sadness. But Naruto knew better. She was a ninja, she was trained to misinform people. She was trying to put off his guard, and he wouldn't have it.

"I don't need help."

"Will you at least tell me why, to put my mind at ease?"

Naruto stared at her for a short while before moving to lower his mask. Kyoko gasped when she saw something horrible, she would never forget it: the face of Naruto, scarred perpetually. She watched fresh blood pour from the corners of his mouth—she realized immediately that speaking must hurt him. She also saw the jagged six scars marring his cheeks, like whiskers. He quickly wiped away the blood with his tongue before putting his scarf back in place.

"That is why, girl."

"…I… Never would have guessed…"

Nobody would, you naive girl…

Naruto turned back to his gauntlets, still requiring some cleaning.

"Naruto?"

She saw no response from him. He continued wiping his segmented gauntlets.

"Naruto…?"

"What!?" he snarled and looked at her, dropping his armor to the cool, moist grass. He was surprised when he saw her vambraces off, and her arms exposed… he saw twin jagged scars running over both of her wrists.

"You… aren't the only one who lived like that…" she began weeping softly.

Naruto felt a pang of confusion in his gut, some twisted knot. He never would have guessed she had painful wounds as well. Dangerously cutting it close to death by the looks of the severely scarred appendages. He watched as her eyes grew wet and wet spots began forming on the ground below her from the drip of salty tears. Kyoko quickly recovered her arms with her vambraces, not wanting to leave that exposed any longer than necessary.

"How did that happen?" Naruto inquired, curious, but empathetic as well.

She jumped at the suddenness of his voice calling out to her, she looked up and saw him gazing at her softly, no longer angry, but passive. It was a step in the right direction, at least…

"The village I grew up in… didn't appreciate my clan. We were renowned for being able to use fire jutsu with barely any effort…"

"A bloodline?" 

"Yes, a bloodline. But… we lived in Kirigakure… where people with bloodlines are murdered, or worse," she paused slightly, sighing, kicking a small pebble toward the fire. "My family was murdered and I was… tortured and left for dead."

Naruto listened intently. 'Remember, she is here for some reason that mine eyes do not yet perceive. Do not let down thine guard, Naruto.'

I know, father…

"I became a rogue ninja, collecting bounties wherever I roam. What about you?"

Naruto looked at her with one brow raised, not expected to give his background. But, he validated to himself that the least he could do would be to return the favor.

"I never knew my parents, and I don't think I'd want to. I know who my father was and he was a hero to Konohagakure. Because of my orphan status though, few knew who my father was. I grew up in a less than friendly environment because… I have a bloodline as well."

Kyoko looked up at him quickly. "You have a bloodline, too?"

Naruto nodded. "I have special chakra that is far more potent than others' chakra, along with enhanced endurance and regeneration. I was always much stronger than others, to the point where, even as an academy student, I was feared or hated. Ultimately, their fear and hatred forced me to leave, and now I'm on the run from my village."

"And your scars, Naruto?"

She saw him clench his face muscles slightly and his hand turned into a fist. "As a child, the ire of those still bitter from the war and the Kyuubi attack was taken out on nameless orphans. I was one of the lucky few. The man that assaulted me was delusional because the demon had killed his entire family so…"

"They cut your face pretty badly, for it not to heal…"

She saw him tense again. "It wasn't just my face… all manner of pain… Have you ever had bones ripped from inside your body then forced back inside?"

She blanched and quieted down, and if her green face was any indication to Naruto, he knew she wouldn't be asking any more questions. He heard a drip and looked down; the entire time he was speaking, his face was bleeding profusely. The dull throb of agony was almost totally ignored by him. Kyoko saw that and went over to his side of the fire where he tensed, not knowing what she would do. She pulled a wet, hot towel from near the fire and approached him. She didn't say anything, but she reached for his scarf to see how he would react. Naruto didn't move, he was watching her intently. She slowly lowered it and saw more blood than before smeared over his stout mouth and chin. She gently wiped it away, her eyes never leaving his. When she was finished he stood quickly and strode to his mat by the fire, eager to redress in his scarf.

"I'm going to rest now." 

"Naruto, I thought you didn't want to sleep around me? You haven't slept for two days…"

"…I trust that you will not harm me while I rest."

'Naruto… thou art playing a dangerous game.'

Father, will you awaken me if you sense danger?

'Always, my child.'

Naruto drifted off into sleep as Kyoko watched over his sleeping form with a gentle look on her fair face. After an hour of poking the fire and repeating their exchange of words in her head, she checked again to ensure that Naruto was asleep when she let out a light, almost silent chirp. From the darkness around the camp fire a small black bird landed near her. She procured a small scrap of paper and a pen to quickly scribble a message. Finished after only a couple minutes, she rolled up the paper and attached it to the black bird which then took flight to the west. She again gazed at Naruto, with a saddened smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, Naruto…"

Naruto was dreaming again. He saw a black land, no trees, no grass, no sky, only blackness, everywhere, perpetual and indifferent. He heard voices calling out to him, his name on their voices barely carried through the wind so faintly he didn't know if it was actual voices or the wind. He could feel an inherent pain, as if all the agony he's ever felt and ever caused was forming a physical presence near him, and in shock, he turned hearing a familiar voice call out to him. He whipped around and saw Haku standing before him whispering his name while her head was bowed towards the ground, he couldn't see her face. He carefully approached her as the wind picked up and the whispering grew ever louder. As she came into arms' reach, she jerked her head up—her eyes and nose were missing; only bloody holes remained. Her mouth was smiling and spewing copious amounts of black blood outward. On her chest was a massive hole where Kakashi had stabbed her… "Naruto… why didn't you stop _him_?" She grabbed Naruto's hand and forced it into her chest cavity where he could feel the familiar touch of the innards of humans. He was sick, he couldn't take this madness! "Kakashi did this to me!" Haku screamed at him. He was thrashing around in the darkness again as the whispers increased in volume and frequency, the overlapping noises disorienting him as he fled from the dream Haku. Finally he came upon a grave marker, the same grave where Haku was buried in the Land of Waves, opened, as if someone dug through it already. He was horrified at this point but had no choice but to look in, and in there, he saw Kyoko's body. The whispers stopped again, and the vision faded, the blackness began to compress inward on him when he heard one final whisper in the dream.

You mean nothing to them.

AN: As per usual, let me know what you think. Although I initially stated in chapter one the story seemed to be about twelve or thirteen chapters long, it's looking to be marginally longer… which is good for those of you who like this story. On another note, this chapter is a bit shorter than my others, so… I'm sorry it's shorter than usual, but I had to leave it at this epic cliff hanger. The next chapter may also be a bit short (I consider anything near 10,000 words short), but hopefully after that it will start picking up again. I hope you guys enjoy it and leave a review, you wonderful people.

On a side note, chapter two of my other story should be up soon.


	6. Pandemonium and Chaos

Disclaimer: This is a disclaimer, as if I needed to type another at this point.

Chapter 6: Pandemonium and Chaos

Contrary to his asocial upbringing, Naruto knew what those around him thought, for the most part. Since a young age, the young boy could read others like open books, their base movements, eye motions, what they say and how they say it, how they react to certain situations; he knew when someone was lying to him most of the time, and he knew when someone meant something sincerely or otherwise... for the most part. However, with his new travelling companion, he was at a loss, even the Kyuubi didn't know what to think, although the creature was defensive regardless. This girl, Kyoko, she was a wild card, unable to be trusted, but unable to be turned away. It had been another three days since their little heart-to-heart by the campfire; they had nearly reached the eastern border of the Land of Fire where Naruto could escape to… anywhere else, really. He had no current goal in mind, at the moment, and the Kyuubi, his father, wasn't obligated to tell him a good location to train at with his extra baggage tailing him. So to that end, until Kyoko decided to leave, Naruto meandered through the wilderness and various villages at random, with no ultimate short-term goal in mind, other than to get rid of the girl tailing him. He still didn't trust her entirely, but… he had to admit to himself, even if he admitted to no other that he felt a bit easier around her, having been with her for around a week and she had yet to abuse him, mentally or otherwise, which was much more than most others could claim.

Naruto could claim that she annoyed him, however, regardless of her disposition towards him.

It was late afternoon, and Naruto was walking at a brisk pace with his companion towards the next village, right at the border of the Land of Fire, where his crossing would sever any remaining ties with Konohagakure; there, he would be free of his hated homeland. On the orange horizon, a bit down the road they could see their destination: a small village. The dense emerald forests that dominated the landscape closed around the village in a kind of natural, leafy valley. They walked in each other's presence without saying a word. Both of the travelers were exhausted from walking and tree-hopping endlessly for miles upon miles, they were weary and wanted to eat actual food and then sleep in an actual bed. Naruto eyed the oncoming village, deep in thought.

Unknown to his companion, Kyoko, the Kyuubi had sensed something during Naruto's sleep a night prior, relaying to Naruto that it had happened each night with the girl after Naruto had gone to sleep. The fox would use Naruto's subconscious senses to stay vigilant and listen to what the girl was doing. Naruto now knew she had been writing messages to somebody and sending them off with unknown feathery companions. Naruto was suspicious, but said nothing. He knew he couldn't flee from her anyway; she was almost always awake when he was, and even then, she could easily catch up to him. No, he couldn't lose her. He just had to wait to see what her motives were, not that he would be happy to find out. On the contrary, he felt a bit betrayed, but he knew she was untrustworthy, with mysterious motivations no less, he knew the potential consequences upon allowing her to join him. But still, he said nothing. He and Kyuubi only kept a much closer watch on her, never letting her out of her sight. Naruto planned on staying awake tonight and catching her in the act and subsequently demand answers from her in the confrontation.

His eyes narrowed as they reached the decent sized village, expecting to see workmen of various positions vying for their daily bread inside the village major, but instead, Naruto saw nothing. No movement at all was seen. He dared to approach as he felt his sixth sense begin to ache slightly in the back of his mind.

As they neared the village, the absence of any noticeable life was puzzling to the blonde boy, although his companion didn't seem to mind or care, or perhaps she was too entranced with staring at Naruto to notice. After walking a short distance into the small town, he noticed one thing out of place—a bowl of food at a food stand, left on the counter with chopsticks clattered to the floor near it, steam rising from the bowl of broth. Someone was eating here a moment ago before abandoning their meal. There were people here recently assuredly, but where had they all gone?

Naruto knew something was about to happen as two figures appeared before them, seemingly materializing out of nowhere: Itachi and Kisame. Naruto stopped walking and narrowed his eyes at his trackers, his expression not being able to be seen by the older two ninja since the afternoon sun was behind him, shrouding his face further in shadow and partially blinding Kisame and Itachi, although not by much. Naruto didn't have to look to his side to sense that Kyoko was tense, she must have known who these two were or she had to feel their raw power coalescing around them.

"Naruto-san."

Naruto said nothing as Itachi stared into him with tired, remorseless eyes, the eyes of a killer, of an assassin, of a ninja. The eyes Naruto saw in his reflection were looking back at him.

"As I've said, we would meet again. And now, I have a request for you." Itachi watched as Naruto tilted his head slightly, perhaps curious, which was Itachi's cue to continue. "I want you to surrender yourself peaceably. Kisame and I have orders to take you to our leader," continued the older Uchiha. Naruto felt Kyoko tense beside him; she was ready for a fight, if necessary, but the fear he could smell rolling off of her in waves of purest terror—he knew she didn't want to enter a combat situation unless she had to. Naruto eyed Itachi closely as the older ninja stared directly at the dark space where he knew Naruto's eyes were hidden in his hooded cloak.

'Don't do it, my son. Their lies will conclude with thine end…'

"Naruto!"

All the ninja turned immediately upon hearing another man's voice, a voice none of them expected to hear here of all places. The voice soon revealed an even older man with lengthy white hair who appeared atop a nearby building; it was Jiraiya. "Well, well, well, Itachi and Kisame. I'm not surprised at seeing you here with Naruto, again… but now I know without a doubt that you're trying to capture him. Naruto was never associated with you, was he?" All joviality that was usually displayed across the elder ninja's face was replaced with a serious demeanor, and that was something Naruto had rarely seen. Naruto watched as the man's eyes flickered toward him for a moment before returning to Itachi on the opposite side of the street.

"Naruto is our target, and we will capture him."

Jiraiya smirked at Itachi. "Well, sorry to ruin your plans, boy, but neither me nor Naruto want that to happen, and I don't think the two of you can stand up to the three of us," he said with pointed arrogance. Naruto stared with narrowed at the enemies who stood away from him. He was tired of running. He was tired of these people. He was tired of every single ninja he knew, they were all suffocating him. They waylaid him physically and emotionally nearly every day of his life, and he couldn't take it anymore. Naruto began shaking and panting slowly, gaining the attention of the bystanders. Kyoko eyed him warily and backed up a few paces with her eyes wide, betraying her true feelings about this situation and losing her calmness. Itachi watched Jiraiya passively while Kisame eyed the Jinchuuriki hungrily with a grin as he put a hand on his sword's grip.

"Naruto! Calm down. I came here to talk to you," Jiraiya tried to explain while he watched the young boy with worry.

A flapping noise caught Jiraiya's attention, as he looked upwards to see a shadowy fowl circling high above, gradually sinking closer and nearer towards the scattered ninja. Naruto glanced upwards and locked eyes with the circling target, while Kyoko glanced up and attempted a face of feigned ignorance—although if one looked closer they would see her eyes still slightly wider than normal, and her heart rate was still beating quickly. It was only the fear from Itachi and Kisame, perhaps… or maybe she was afraid that her cover would be blown. Itachi glanced upwards lazily while Kisame hefted his large sword to his shoulder, still eyeing the distracted blonde boy.

The bird landed on Itachi's shoulder and dropped a scroll into his hand which he caught without looking, before the bird took off into the sky once more.

'My son, that is the same type of creature that the girl utilized; I can distinguish the sounds of the creature from other fowl of similar make. The girl has been in contact with Itachi Uchiha… That must be why her fear is prevalent now.'

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief beneath his hood, and the overwhelming raw emotions flowing through him he began to growl and his fists were so tight, the metal gauntlets were denting slightly. Jiraiya watched the scene with incredulity—could his secure spy network be entwined with the Akatsuki's informants? Those black ravens were supposedly a secure information network that only Jiraiya and his informants had access to, and knowing that Itachi had access to it was not only a blow to the Sannin's pride, but his sense of security. The Akatsuki has access to Konoha's top secret information. That had to be how they found Naruto… does that mean his people betrayed him? He shook his head and grimaced, he would have to re-secure his entire international spy corps when he could. It was a bitter pill, knowing his secret messenger birds were the same that Itachi Uchiha used… he idly wondered how much Akatsuki could have learned from all of his posts. Similarly, Kyoko stared at the Akatsuki member across the road that so casually unraveled his scroll to read it, watching with wide eyes. She then felt an unbelievable pressure—pure hatred and anger in her vicinity. She realized then with disbelief that Naruto knew she had been sending off messages of her own with those very same messenger birds.

Her partner turned toward her slowly, looking at her from over his shoulder and beneath his hood, and she could see his eyes lit by a malevolent crimson aura, and his slit pupils were emblazoned upon them. She saw the upper portion his face in a grimace of disbelief and anger. He snarled at her and turned away, he began walking out the village the way they entered. The pressure increased tenfold, Jiraiya and Itachi were almost unable to move because of the intensity, having never felt anything so intense since the Kyuubi's horrible attack on Konoha years ago. Kisame grinned even more when he saw Itachi nod at him—he knew the unspoken order: do not let the boy get away.

Kisame snarled loudly with a battle cry that broke through the repressive silence and charged at Naruto, but before he could get halfway to the boy he was blocked by Jiraiya who stunned him with a kick. A huge toad jumped from outside the village and landed at Jiraiya's back where the toad drew a massive blade to block Itachi's assault at the older ninja's back. As Jiraiya straightened himself, he glanced at Kyoko. "Get out of here—go find Naruto! Keep him safe!" She nodded dumbly and ran out into the forest, trying to find Naruto's trail. It wasn't hard, anything around could feel the evil aura that was seeping from Naruto. Of course, she couldn't blame him, she thought sadly. He had nowhere to go, he was followed by his enemies, and he was in the middle of being hunted by his old village and then his only saving grace, her friendship, was lost to him when he somehow realized that Kyoko had sent scrolls with the messenger birds of her own. She just wanted to talk to him; she knew he would understand her. She hadn't hurt him, and he had to listen to her reasoning! He had to recognize what she had been doing was not intended to end this way…

Jiraiya was pushed back from Kisame with a roar, but before the shark-man could shred the Sannin to pieces, Kisame's sword was blocked by the toad Jiraiya had summoned. He noticed Itachi about to attack the toad's back and went to incapacitate and engage the Konoha deserter, but upon contact, the Itachi he impaled with a kunai dispersed into smoke… it was a clone. He had left Jiraiya and his toad to fight Kisame, and the way he saw his toad being tossed into buildings and crushing them upon contact, he knew he needed the toad's help with this opponent. He gazed quickly to the southwest where he saw visual bursts of crimson chakra on the horizon… Naruto's power made physical. He could see dozens of trees breaking and toppling, birds fleeing, fires starting, he could feel the hatred and see the crimson haze. It was a hell of Naruto's own design.

Naruto roared in anger in the distance, pure unbridled fury flowing through his veins, red chakra seeping from his skin and burning the plant life around him while simultaneously causing all nearby creatures to flee. He saw red and he continued raging, he ripped trees from the forest floor and crushed them, bashed them against other trees, or launched them into the distance. The noise was deafening, the constant roar of crashing flora, fires burning from Naruto's caustic chakra, and Naruto's screaming in agony, both mental and physical at this point. He gripped his head in pain and howled again as he head-butted a tree repeatedly until his forehead bled and the tree buckled and blackened from the vile power before igniting from the scathing power.

Naruto felt something behind him; he turned with his claws at the ready and snarled while he leapt at Kyoko, who didn't have time to scream before her windpipe was choked off. She struggled in his literal iron grip as his claws rent at the sides of her neck, spilling droplets of her blood along his metal arm guards. Kyoko watched with fear and near unconsciousness, in an almost lucid state. Naruto's hood had fallen back revealing his pale hair with streaks of red and black through it, probably a side effect of the foul chakra he was utilizing. His eyes, however, showed only bloodlust. His anger overrode everything. The freshly closed wound on his head had blood leaking down over his face, making him look far more intimidating than ever before.

"N-Naruto, please listen to me…!" Kyoko struggled to say before choking a bit more in his grip. The red chakra began to sear at her exposed neck flesh and she began to scream in utter agony.

His face contorted into one of pure agony before he dropped her on the ground and gripped his head in pain once more before his own claws began to rend at his own flesh and he screamed. The vile red chakra emitting from him died away and he stood panting, dripping blood as he rose to meet her gaze. He held her gaze with malice and coldness as she witnessed his hair returning to a near-white hue and his eyes returned to icy blue color. "What… could you possibly say to atone for… what you've done…?"

Kyoko fell to the ground sobbing and grasping her neck which continued to bleed profusely, and he could see the angry red chakra burns he had left in a claw-shaped mark around her neck. "Naruto," she choked out, "I didn't mean for this to happen… I—"

"She has led us to you, Naruto-san. Without her help, we would never have found you. And now, she is expendable."

A large explosion boomed in the distance, deafening even the three shinobi far away from Kisame and Jiraiya's supposed battle, although at this point it may have well been war. Perhaps, if the villagers were to return to their village afterward, they would witness something from a nightmare.

"Naruto, I'm sorry but I didn't have a choice and I—"

"No!" snarled the blonde boy. "I'm tired of this! I'm tired of everything! Just… leave me alone." His eyes betrayed the hurt he was hiding beneath his anger as he leapt away from Itachi and the gasping girl. Itachi didn't even pay her any mind when he leapt away and followed the blonde boy closely. After she was left alone amidst a burning clearing, the adrenaline from the prior situation left her weak and shaking. She had never seen or felt anything so intimidating… her friend, Naruto, he was something beyond normal. She just wanted to find him and tell him the truth. She tried to stand and get away from the burning shrubbery but she couldn't move entirely with her neck searing with pain and overpowering her senses. Kyoko shed a tear, perhaps she would never atone for what she's done, or even survive this day…

"Kyoko, where did Naruto go?" called a voice nearby, jumping through the fire towards her…

"It's fortunate that you've arrived so soon, Tsunade. The village has been waiting for your coming for some time, now. And we've much troubling news to discuss with our new leader."

An old man, an ex-ninja to be precise, had served Konoha his entire life, but during the last war, he was wounded and crippled. Now he only engaged in political warfare, rather than actual combat. His war wounds were covered from view by medical wraps, which were so extensive, he resembled a mummy. Regardless of his physical limitations, however, Danzo was a powerful politician and tactician. He was also condescending and annoying.

"Look, Danzo, I don't want the damn job and you know it. I'm only here because I'm forced to be. Don't expect me to baby you and everyone else in this forsaken village," the Sannin spoke with venom at the old war veteran. Her eyes belayed coldness and annoyance. Danzo smirked slightly. He didn't exactly blame her—Tsunade had, in fact, lost every loved one in this village. And beyond that, even the stone cold Danzo had to admit the darkness that the Kyuubi boy had left upon their village was outright depressing. He was used to living in darkness in underground bunkers, but he still relished the sun whenever he surfaced. Now everything was dull and dark. Perhaps the psychological ramifications of the depressing atmosphere further caused Tsunade's… troubling nature.

"As much as I hate to see you leading our village, the fact of the matter is that you ARE leading our village, and thus I will do what I need to do to assist you. And I'm here to personally discuss some of the more pressing matters we have to deal with," Danzo began seriously, looking his Hokage straight in the eye. "I heard from your ANBU escort that you were only awakened today, and so you know nothing about what has happened within the last month. Who you decide to tell this to, such as your apprentice Shizune, is up to you, Hokage-sama, but I am here to discuss this with you and understand what you plan to do about it." He paused at that to witness the message sinking in. Her face creased with stress.

"Well, get on with it, old man."

Danzo hummed at that with an odd look in his eye before continuing. "I'm sure you understand by now that Sarutobi is dead. He was killed by your ex-teammate Orochimaru."

Tsunade's eyes darkened considerably but she said nothing, only nodding for Danzo to continue. "He usurped Sunagakure into working with him and his forces to attack us, which is why the village is in the shape you see. However, due to the underhanded nature of Orochimaru's manipulations, we're considering reopening delegations with Suna, as they were tricked into attacking us at Orochimaru's will."

Tsunade nodded her head, although one didn't have to be a trained expert to see the rather uncaring look in her eyes.

"Secondly, as you may have noticed, a large part of our forest is rotting away. It's some sort of blight. It kills everything it touches. It's been spreading from a massive crater that happened during the invasion, and the same power that caused that black blight is the same that continues to make our skies dark. It was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki."

At this, Tsunade perked up with a confused look on her face. "Minato's boy? Why? How? I would have thought Orochimaru had done that, rather than one of our own ninja."

Danzo's face darkened at that. "Naruto Uzumaki is no longer a ninja of Konoha. He escaped over a week ago, defected. The powers he used were infused with the chakra of the Kyuubi, we all felt it from inside the village when he used it… But nobody except Jiraiya knows what he did—some kind of shadow summoning I believe. It was during the Hokage's funeral that he left us. Jiraiya has since gone to retrieve him, you know someone that powerful in the hands of our enemies could prove disastrous." Tsunade nodded her agreement.

"Didn't anyone try to capture him while he was leaving?"

Danzo responded curtly. "Yes."

"And…?"

"They were defeated. Sasuke Uchiha is utterly crippled from his duel with the boy. Speaking of which… we believe that one of Orochimaru's people came into our village only a few days ago, they stole into the hospital and cut out the Sharingan from Sasuke's eyes. The village is outright outraged at this, and the boy's mental state is startlingly unfavorable. Out of Hatake Kakashi's students, Sasuke was crippled when he lost his limbs and eyes, while Naruto defected. He only has a civilian-clan ninja left, an unremarkable one at that. You know of Kakashi's past and mannerisms, so it shouldn't be a surprise to you to know that he hasn't left his house out of depression since Naruto defeated Sasuke."

Tsunade, however, remained apathetic. "Like I've always said, this village takes and takes, and never gives back… I hate it here."

Danzo replied with a serious tone in his voice, "Regardless of your feelings, you have to lead us in these dark times. It is the will of the Hokage and his predecessors, including your grandfather. There will be a village council meeting in two days' time. We will discuss then our next course of action regarding these recent… setbacks. Good day."

With that, the old bandaged man left the Hokage who did not want to be Hokage to her own devices and demons.

It was only minutes later, after Naruto had fled, that he felt another presence quickly gaining on him. It couldn't be that traitor, Kyoko, he had left her in a severe amount of pain, he was certain she couldn't be this mobile so shortly after receiving her wound. No—this had to be one of the other three. Assuming that Kisame and Jiraiya were still fighting, that only left…

"Naruto-kun, you cannot escape. Cease your incessant evasion, it will do you no good."

'My son, do not look into his eyes… The Sharingan is a powerful weapon…'

"What do you want from me? Why are you and fish-face after me?" Naruto asked as he slowly turned in place to come face to face with Itachi Uchiha, although at the Kyuubi's behest, he did not look at the man's eyes. They were both still, facing each other in a rather quiet clearing in the wood, the earlier sounds of battle now too distant to be heard, unless Jiraiya or Kisame finished their battle quickly.

His face gave away nothing at all, it was blank as stone. "It is our mission to collect the Kyuubi. That is all you need to know."

Naruto's pale face darkened, the sight of which unnerved Itachi. "You will never take my father away from me. I am his disciple of Chaos… and you cannot stop me."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, while quietly noting that Naruto wouldn't look him in the eye. He must have heard of Itachi's powers with the Sharingan. "You think the Kyuubi is your father? Absurd."

Naruto growled out at him as his eyes began emitting a red aura, "It's not for you to decide if it is absurd or not… Leave our presence, and take your traitor with you. If I see her again, I may just kill her myself."

"The girl? She wasn't betraying you, Naruto-kun. She was informing of Jiraiya of your location so he could come find you and talk to you. However, one of Jiraiya's _other_ informants had been intercepting the girl's messages and telling us of your location as well. He lives in the village where we confronted you a while ago."

Naruto's eyes widened noticeably. "What… what are you saying?"

Before Itachi answered, a blue skinned figure dropped out of the foliage behind Naruto, who was now stuck between the two Akatsuki members. He could practically feel the sharp-toothed grin of Kisame grinning at his back. "What we're saying is that you technically betrayed her when you attacked her, you stupid brat. Enough chit-chat. Now are you ready to come with us, or will my sword be severing limbs today?"

Naruto's face bared his disgust, his fury, his shock; it was barely relief that the girl hadn't been working with Akatsuki and instead Jiraiya, but the fact that she had no ill will towards him that made his stomach churn horribly, as if he were perhaps guilty. Had she been in league with Itachi and Kisame as he initially thought, then perhaps his anger and assault was justified, in his mind, at least. But knowing that she was, to her knowledge, only trying to help Naruto by helping Jiraiya find him, and knowing that he turned on her during what must have been a horrible moment for Kyoko, the realization that Naruto himself considered her an enemy at that point, Naruto was sick with disgust… at himself, for the first time in a long time. Had he known the truth, he wouldn't have harmed her so quickly. He may have even forgiven her considering Jiraiya wasn't an "outright enemy" to Naruto. But it was too late for forgiveness, now that actions had been taken. All that remained was to deal with the aftermath of the choices of those involved, but the only way Naruto could even attempt to speak to her and get her away from Jiraiya was to deal with these Akatsuki, and knowing the legends of their power and experiences, he knew it was unlikely that he could outright destroy them… but there was, perhaps, one power in his capability, or so he reasoned, that could destroy Kisame and Itachi, and that knowledge gave him the small bit of assurance he needed.

"I'm not going with you."

Kisame grinned ever wider as Naruto turned towards him, away from Itachi who was observing passively. "Oh, you're coming with us, blondie—it's just that you might be leaving a leg or arm behind." With that, Kisame charged at the boy who stood calmly in the small clearing of trees. As Kisame neared, Itachi's eyes widened slightly.

The Naruto that Kisame hit dispersed into a cloud of smoke—it was a distraction. The two Akatsuki heard the bushes rustle off to the side where Naruto, the real one Itachi noted to himself, revealed himself holding a hand sign and charging his chakra for something… big. Itachi had heard of Naruto's actions outside of Konohagakure. He knew what was about to happen. "Kisame, stop him!" Kisame rushed forward to the boy holding his hands together when he, too, dispersed into smoke. Itachi gasped. He was certain that was the real Naruto!  
>Just then, twenty other Naruto's walked out of the shrubbery into the clearing, each holding the same hand sign. Although Itachi nor Kisame could tell which was real, they could both feel the raw power gathering around them. There wasn't enough time to stop whatever it was from happening.<p>

"My father will find amusement in your deaths. Any last words?" questioned the multiple Naruto clones simultaneously in a monotonous drone that chilled the very souls of the two aged ninja.

Itachi grinned; a true smile graced his face. "Know this, Uzumaki, whatever apologies you seek will not be found. Your pain this day was wrought by your own hands. And know that even if we die, the Akatsuki will never stop."

The Naruto clones all frowned at this before hearing another outburst from Kisame. "I'll never go down, not without fighting!" He leapt at the closest clone and swung his massive sword just as both Kisame and Itachi's worlds became nothingness.

Naruto left the clearing in the forest as soon as he felt Kisame's presence approaching. He realized that, for only just a moment, Itachi was focused on Kisame's presence entirely, which left Naruto free to create a clone off in the distance and switch himself and it. The switch had luckily gone unnoticed. He left his clones to converse with the Akatsuki while he listened in and decided to kill them. They had angered him and followed him for long enough, and now was the time to finish them. Their colleagues would never know what had happened to them, so hopefully the Akatsuki that Naruto had yet to meet would not come for him… for a while, at least, or so Naruto prayed. He was absolutely tired of these powerful ninja always after him, after all. As he heard the threat from Kisame directed at his clone, he began charging his chakra to summon a shadow from the pits of hell, something enough to kill both of these legendary ninja. And in the blink of an eye, right as Kisame charged, it happened. In ultra-slow motion, perhaps Itachi could have observed this phenomenon, but even with his Sharingan eyes that could perceive events in slow-motion, he could not see what happened before he was dead. From Naruto's position in the forest nearby, an utter blackness seeped from his body accompanying a deafening blast, like some foul, explosive cloud, fast as light itself, or in this case the absence thereof. It spread through the air within hundreds of meters in an instant, every animal, every tree, every blade of grass and every microscopic organism in the radius of the massive blast of darkness was destroyed in an instant. Again, just like in Konoha's recent invasion, blackness blocked out all light, ambient or otherwise, for hundreds of kilometers around. Just like the invasion, it was nearly five minutes later of this stifling black quietness before ambient light returned to the world, only to reveal another massive crater, filled with blackened earth and stone. The outer limit of the crater was riddled with collapsed and decayed looking black plant life, and Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Had he stayed a while after the light returned, he might have noticed two rings resting in the center of the crater where Itachi and Kisame were moments earlier.

Although most humans possessed natural light affinity due to the ability to see better in light, Naruto, being able to summon shadows, had the ability to see easily in low light levels. He easily left the place behind, running through the pitch black forest towards the last place he saw Kyoko. He had to know if she was alright, if he could apologize…

Jiraiya had been duped. The Kisame he and the toad were battling was only an overpowered clone. At some time during the battle, Kisame had replaced himself with a powerful water clone. By the time his toad had dispelled and Jiraiya killed the monster of a clone, he had left immediately to find Kyoko and Naruto. It was easy to find where he assumed they were, seeing the fires and lingering haze of demonic chakra. Upon finding Kyoko, he was shocked to see her in such painful disarray. His guilt of having such a young, upstart kunoichi killed doing his work was stomped by the need to save Naruto from the Akatsuki. Only afterward could he—perhaps using the best of his medical knowledge that he gleaned from Tsunade—return to Kyoko, hopefully with Naruto in tow, and save her from a slow, painful death. The bleeding at her neck was profuse enough to endanger her life, but slow enough to make it last for near an hour before she would finally die, he noted. It must be one of the most unimaginably painful experiences to endure, and not only that, but the girl had a red burn and chakra poisoning from the Kyuubi's foul chakra. The foreign, vile power would slowly taint her organs until she… well, Jiraiya hoped it wouldn't come to that, not if he could help it. His mind set, Jiraiya leapt out of the burning and quickly blackening shrubbery and landed near Kyoko.

"Kyoko, where did Naruto go?" Jiraiya asked, anxious to save him from the Akatsuki, although on second thought, looking around at the hellish scenery caused by Naruto, he may not need the assistance after all. He _did_ defeat Gaara with one attack, after all.

She slowly turned her head towards him from her place on the forest floor, and a bit of blood leaked out of her neck wounds. Jiraiya's heart grew cold when he saw how absolutely pale she was. He knew she wouldn't live, and he was heartbroken about having sent her to her death. He couldn't face his mistakes costing the lives of such young, promising people without terrible, debilitating remorse. He quickly gave her a blood pill, a medicine specially made for people dying of blood loss. He drew his flask and gave her a bit of water to cool her throat and hopefully drown the taste of blood with it. "Did you see where he went? I have to find him now. After I get rid of those Akatsuki goons, I'll come back for you and heal you up; you'll be fine, I promise. Where did they go?" His throat clenched at the lie he knew he told her but would never admit to.

She pointed in a direction off in the conflagration, "He ran that way, Jiraiya-sama… Please don't take too long."

He cringed at her longing and pleading voice. He didn't want to leave her to die alone. "I'll be back soon, don't worry." In his haste to save his student, Jiraiya overlooked the one who needed him most at the moment. A few minutes after running, he heard a shout in the distance and then, only a moment after he turned his head in that direction, a blast of shadow overtook his view, he could see nothing as he slammed into a nearby tree in the opposite direction and was stunned at the force of whatever powerful shadow Naruto summoned off in the distance. He fell unconscious nearly immediately. For what seemed like a couple minutes to him, Jiraiya was drifting in and out of unconsciousness until he realized there was a bit of ambient light. He _blinked _and the world seemingly skipped ahead a few minutes until it was a bit brighter. He saw he was on the ground, many branches and twigs entwining with his limbs on the forest floor. He couldn't hear a thing. Against his will, his eyes slowly closed once again as the overwhelmingly dizzying sensation enveloped his head again. He gasped as he throttled forward, although his head was ringing and spinning. It was brighter, just slightly.

He only hoped he was dazed for a brief period, he hoped that he would survive, and he hoped that he would return to Kyoko with enough time to save her, even if he knew she was beyond help. He knew the Akatsuki were dead after that, since the edge of the attack nearly killed him—a Sannin, and he knew for Naruto to be able to use that he had to be fine. He wouldn't worry too much about the boy for the moment… No more than he already did, at least. If anything, he was relieved that he took out two Akatsuki members alone. But nonetheless, he had to persevere and see the damage for himself and see if he could find any trace of Itachi, Kisame, or Naruto himself.

And then, after assuring his charge was alive and his enemies were dead, he would return to Kyoko and do what he could to ease her suffering… Jiraiya knew beyond a shadow of a doubt the girl would die today. He didn't have the medical expertise to save her. The young girl whom Jiraiya thought of as his own would perish because of his mistakes with Konoha and Naruto. Can people like him ever attain forgiveness, or are they forever cursed to shoulder their burdens?

…Elsewhere, in a white, sterile room filled with medical equipment, Sasuke Uchiha sat up on his medical cot, multiple machines attached to his body and signaling with steady blips on some screen, some useless statistic that no longer mattered to Sasuke. His stump of a shoulder, his eyeless head, his missing leg and remainder of his other leg, it was too much for the boy. To see the heir of the Uchiha, who prided their Sharingan eyes above all else, in the hospital with a white cloth wrapped around his severely burnt face and two bloody splotches where his eyes should have been, that was to see the incarnation of hopelessness. There was no crying. There was no hysterical hyperventilating. There was no cursing, swearing, twitching, roaring, or any manner of angered or anguished outburst. There was a single scream when he awakened a few days prior, and since then the boy hadn't said a thing. Nurses came, his team mate Sakura and fellow graduates came wishing for his health and recovery, his sensei and a few other chunin and jounin came by to wish him the best. Tsunade even came by to say it was _possible_ that she could attach donated, _normal_ eyes to the boy's severed optical cords. She said it was _possible _to attach prosthetic limbs. Although even at that, which Kakashi would have at least suspected would be met with prideful outbursts, the boy said nothing.

He only frowned perpetually. In his sleep, his visage showed only a frown; in his conscious time, a constant frown. In the bathroom, eating, drinking, taking medicine and medical examinations—a frown met everything.

And after all his friends and supporters tried to soothe his, well, something (at this point he's heard everything from post-traumatic stress to depression), he still said nothing.

Nothing at all.

But it should never be said that the boy was broken. His mind was working overtime, at a frantic pace. Thinking about his goal—about his vile brother Itachi that killed their entire family years ago. Thinking about his team mate. Thinking about his blessed eyes and his once whole extremities. Thinking about that obnoxious, pink-haired girl that pestered him daily. She still called him team mate, as if he was still a ninja. That made him mentally snort with nothing short of the fieriest ire.

He listened as Kakashi and Sakura spoke to him when he was awake, although he never responded to anything except food, drink and assistance to the restroom, they knew he was clinging to their every word.

Today, Kakashi was explaining how nobody found any trace of the spy or infiltrator who stole his eyes, and that whoever they were, they were beyond skilled at medicine and stealth. The Inuzuka hounds were allowed to scope the scene, but they could only go a maximum distance to the gates of Konoha, or the wall, in one case. The person's trail seemingly disappeared after that. And it made Sasuke furious.

And Sasuke was certain that Kakashi did not fail to notice when the heart-rate monitor accelerated just the slightest bit when he became angry at that. He quickly ushered Sakura out of the room after that, before turning towards Sasuke again. He remember the words his sensei spoke to him that day. _"Sasuke, I know how you feel. You think I don't, you may think nobody knows how you feel, but many do, including me. You may never be the same after this, but I think that you, not only as my pupil, or the last Uchiha, but as a younger man who can benefit from what wisdom I have, should consider Tsunade's proposal. It will never be the same, but if you can see again, if you can move on your own again, you can become a ninja again. If you can become a ninja again, you will gain more strength. And then you can find this 'infiltrator' and avenge yourself before finding your brother and avenging your clan. That's all. Think on it, Sasuke."_

It was nearly two days after that one-sided conversation, and Sasuke, despite his pain both physical and psychological, was ready to give his answer.

It was while a nurse had been cleaning the boy's wounds and applying more medicine and wrapping when he finally opened his mouth and spoke to the absolutely stunned nurse. His voice was raspy, and the raw emotion in it was dangerously powerful, but soft, like a father speaking to his son while reigning in his temper about an unrelated matter. "Nurse… get me Tsunade-sama."

With a gasp and a haphazard stumble, the young woman was rushing to the lobby to find someone, anyone, to bring a message to their new Hokage.

Naruto was rushing through the undergrowth post haste. He had to find her.

She had to have known because she tried explaining, but he wouldn't listen to her—instead he insisted on damning her to some unimaginable pain because of his impatient demeanor. He needed to get to her quickly and save her. His frantic searching would save her, he was sure of it. There was absolutely no way she would have died from what he did to her. No. She was wounded, that much was certain, Naruto realized with a pained grimace beneath his scarf, but he could—he WOULD—save her unconditionally. Even if she ceased her travels with him, which he would have found a blessing at one point in time, he would rather her heal and stay as his companion, even if only temporarily. He could atone for his transgressions and have a…

He could have a friend.

'Child… she is no friend. Do not mistake that wretch's forked tongue with her black heart. She has belittled thee with her machinations for the entire journey, expecting thee to fall for her trap. But thou knowest that thine mind is sharp and the body trained; her tricks would have never worked. My son… she is not worthy of our time if she mistakes sincerity for treachery. Perhaps she may be worthy of living in thine eyes, but by no means may she accompany thee any longer.'

Perhaps… perhaps you are correct, Father.

He could see the fires on the near horizon whenever he would leap to another tree—the fires that marked the area where he had his tantrum and wounded the girl he now sought to save. He knew Jiraiya was near his battle with the Akatsuki and would be busy for a short while, if he was even conscious at all. He could save Kyoko, make a short detour to that village where the mole lived and pay him an unfriendly visit, then leave before the old Sannin could figure out where the two were. The green shrubs and deep brown hues of the passing trees quickly transformed into black bright fiery red and orange charred bark and crackling, pitch black leaves. This was the place outside the village where he rampaged through the undergrowth and seared into it with demonic chakra. The place where he tore down great oaks and burnt them into ashes. The place where he… Kyoko…

He killed nobody. Well, not here, at least. He would accept nothing short of that fact. Not without definitive proof.

It was a gasping, retching noise he heard, like someone was vomiting up immense amounts of bile to the extreme, to where they couldn't breathe. Then it ceased for a moment and he heard sobbing amidst the near-deafening crackling of the smoldering wood. In the crimson haze and dark smoke, he saw his companion. She was where he left her in a small clearing that he gouged out of the forest, toppled logs burning nearby, encircling the near-death girl in a ring of glowing red and orange, almost completely obscuring her from view with the dense smoke that hung in the air. Her breathing was labored and her eyes were gazing up at nothing, unfocused. Her neck was dripping with her blood and staining her clothes and the earth around her red, which gleamed with the reflections of the fire. Kyoko was just barely alive, but only just.

"Kyoko…" came a whisper, barely audible over the crackling of flame.

Her eyes barely opened and she saw him. It was Naruto, his black figure even harder to see with the iridescent crimson flames flickering behind him. If she was more coherent, perhaps she may have been scared, but not now. There wasn't enough time for her to be afraid. "Naruto, you came… back…?"

He nodded and kneeled before her prone form, desperately thinking of a way to heal her wounds… but Naruto carried no medicinal supplies on him, and doubted she did. He knew of no jutsu that could heal a person. He had only one other option—he had to get her to the village and find a medic as quickly as possible. It was only a couple miles away, it wouldn't be a very long trek. He stopped examining her worriedly, noticing faintly that her eyes stayed transfixed on him the entire time, when he went to pick her up, she shook her head, just barely, even though it made her neck bleed a bit more than it already was. He noticed that faint black veins seemed to stem from her wound inside of her body… his corrosive chakra must have infected her body. He started panting, whether from regret, fear, the smoke filling his lungs, or any combination thereof, Kyoko knew not.

"No, Naruto, I won't make it… Leave me here…"

He shook his head and made to move her again when she whimpered in pain, that made him flinch and release her a second time. He wanted to tell her it would be okay. He wanted to scream it.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," she spoke softly. There was so much more she wanted to say, but what? What could she say? There was nothing that came to her mind. She only wanted to continue travelling with him, become his friend, and maybe even become nuke-nin partners, seeking bounties and going on adventures. She didn't want this, though, and for whatever it was worth, those three words would have to suffice.

Naruto shook his head again, and she could see how his form looming over her glinted in the fire's rosy light, his pale hair seemed red and the skin on his upper face seemed so tanned, and his eyes, his icy eyes were so filled with worry and regret. Kyoko, in her pained stupor she supposed, thought they looked ready to spill tears. Touching, she vaguely thought, that he did apparently forgive her for her mistake. Naruto saw his face reflected in her half-lidded eyes and they each screamed at him to do something, anything! But he knew better… Kyoko was going to die because of his rage.

"Naruto, I need you to… do one last thing for me, please…"

Naruto stared at her intently, waiting. She coughed for a bit, blood escaping her mouth. He noticed the black infection from her neck was spreading at a grossly hasty pace.

"I need you to… kill me now… I don't want to suffer any more…"

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat and he felt ill. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't. He may have unintentionally killed her but he couldn't… But, he realized in a treacherous struggle with himself, that not doing so would only prolong her suffering when she deserved none. Is there anything else!? He wanted to shout to the high heavens, to make the angels weep at his wrongdoing and help the innocent young woman who was dying because of his stupid, horrible mistake! He began to breathe faster, he felt sicker. He knew what he had to do, and he didn't want to do it. He would do _anything_ else he could conceive of…

'There is no other option, my son. Kill the girl, at least show her a bit of mercy with her suffering. You long to help the girl, this is the only way to do so.'

Trembling, his eyes glistening with the sting of _smoke_, he reached his other clawed metal gauntlet toward her throat while keeping his other beneath her head in some obstinate but soft clutch, preparing to do what needed to be done. He would make it quick, it's the least he could do…

"Forgive me, Kyoko…" he said softly. There was no way she heard so soft a whisper upon the cacophony of the burning wood, but she seemed to understand what he said nonetheless.

"There is nothing… to forgive, Naruto… You've done nothing wrong… I was the one…" she paused with a cough and a pained, deep groan as the black veins seemed to seep into her face. Her eyes rolled upward and her lungs began to act sporadically. She was going into shock from the pain or the vile chakra in her body. Naruto could only imagine the pain she was in, and wished it upon himself instead so that he would somehow atone for his crimes and she would be alright. His prayers weren't answered this day.

He locked onto her twisting, grimacing face and he did the deed. He cleanly cut into her neck, immediately severing her head from her body. She was dead before she knew it. Her blood soaked Naruto's hands. And he knew she died with regret, even though he wanted her to _know _just how apologetic he was, but that was now impossible. She died in vain, condemning herself for something that was out of her control. And it was his fault. He turned toward the village's direction and walked with haste, leaving the burning wood to cremate the girl's corpse. Beyond the fire whipping around his form in the hellish scenery, a thin, crimson mist seemed to linger around his form. He walked away into the burning forest with his fists clenched, still dripping with the blood of the innocent.

A mad cackling was resonating about. It was smooth, and originated from a deep voiced individual, but the sheer _insanity_ of the sound would raise the hackles of most who were unaccustomed to such diabolical sounds emitting from a human being.

Orochimaru couldn't help himself but laugh with absolute malice and utmost glee. He had done it. Well, not "he" specifically, but his minion had done it, which as far as Orochimaru is concerned is an extension of himself; ergo, Orochimaru had done it. He acquired the Sharingan. It began with the failed invasion, he sent his top infiltrator back to Konoha while they were still recovering. After all, what absolute _fool_ would consider infiltrating Konoha when their guard was raised? It was that train of thought that allowed Kabuto to infiltrate the village. They were too preoccupied with reconnoiter of the Land of Fire as a whole to prevent other nations from marching on them. And that is what gave Kabuto the perfect cover—distraction. He easily infiltrated the village and literally plucked the eyes right out of the incapacitated Sasuke Uchiha. And with that, Kabuto left the village one final time with a precious, coveted gift for his master.

And such glee was shown on the face of the bastardly, traitorous snake of Konoha.

Not even an hour after Kabuto returned, it happened. And it was successful.

The transplanted eyes into Orochimaru's new body went without fault. Not only could he see, but he could _truly _see. It was unimaginably, absolutely overwhelmingly awe-inspiring. The stricken Sannin was speechless when he awoke, but he pulled the medical instruments from his body and made for his personal training room. It was then the mad cackling started without pause.

Orochimaru's subordinates and servants, soldiers and medics all flinched at the sound. It was truly disturbing on the deepest level. Although he was their master and savior and lord, he still frightened them to no end.

And now, Orochimaru would not be stopped from gathering his forces and scourging the land for the lost jutsu of times long passed. And with those powers he would acquire, nothing could stop him from destroying Konohagakure, the place of his greatest downfall and ire.

The villagers had finally returned to their normal lives. When two outlawed shinobi appeared in the town, everyone simply hid wherever they could, because they all knew that shinobi of that caliber and notoriety would never hesitate about killing a bystander. Now that the two kids and three adults had gone, life had returned to mostly normal in the small village, although a couple buildings were nearly destroyed when the blue man fought with the white-haired man. The only remaining problem was the forest fire that started some distance away, the smoke could be clearly seen on the horizon, the black column drifting lazily toward the sky as it dispersed. A few ashes rained around the village. Nothing too major, really. It was only minutes later, only perhaps a quarter of an hour, when a massive explosion was both felt and heard, it was an immensely catastrophic explosion that could be clearly seen on the skyline as well. It seemed to reach into the sky like some bizarre, calamitous rip in the fabric of reality made of pure blackness, before it expanded; and the darkness that followed it enshrouded their world.

There was screaming, frantic running, stumbling and falling, people crying, nobody knew what was happening. A short while later, fortunately, the light returned to the world, dim as it was. It seemed to be darker than twilight, even though it was around midday. The sky was blackened with thick, dark clouds that looked like the beginning of a horrible storm. And little did the villagers know that it was, in fact, the beginning of a storm.

On the horizon, people could barely see in the gloom a black figure with what seemed to be white hair. It was a short person, it seemed, perhaps a kid. But the thing that made the villagers panic was that even at the vast distance from the barely distinguishable figure, they could all clearly see red, glowing eyes, pacing ever closer.

Naruto entered the village and the few who were brave enough to linger on the streets stayed as far away from the shinobi as possible. They didn't want trouble with him. They did their best to ignore them and go about their business normally, if trembling in terror and whispering and stuttering in anxiety could be considered normal. However, none of the villagers could see the figure that Naruto spied with his enhanced eyes; they couldn't see a black bird of some sort circling around the village, looking for somewhere to land. Naruto was following it carefully.

The bird flew through the flaps of a roadside ramen stand to land on the shoulder of the sole patron, his earlier forgotten bowl was left on the bar when the shinobi first came, but it was being finished by the buyer, it would seem. Naruto remembered seeing it when he and Kyoko first entered the town. The man must have known what would happen. That, compounded with the black bird going to him personally, gave Naruto all the information he needed to do what needed to be done… just like he had to do earlier…

The ramen stand owner was speaking somewhat quietly with the man at the counter, whose back was facing the entrance. They were hushed about their conversation, but Naruto overheard it as he approached the opening silently.

"…kidding. Jiraiya is one of the easiest to trick, he's too quick to trust. And the Akatsuki, I'll have you know they pay _very_ well. Heheheh…"

He looked up at the ramen cook who he was talking with when he noticed how pale the man had become. Clammy, too. He was staring back, at the entrance of the shop. Who could have entered and made the old man so frightened? He shrugged it off and went to take another bite of his now-cooled ramen when he felt something… odd. He looked down at his bowl and saw it dripping red… from a metal clawed hand that was sticking out of his stomach. He slowly looked back up, the pain had not come to him yet, he only felt strangely cold. The ramen stand owner just backed away, his face dotted with the spray of blood from the customer. He registered faintly someone speaking in a low voice behind him when he was lifted from his seat by the hand impaled in his abdomen. It was then that the screaming started, intermingled with the sounds of squelching and ripping and tearing and snapping. Only a few minutes later, the world was rid of one more scumbag and the village was missing one intimidating young ninja. Nobody stopped him, they just wanted him gone, none more so than the nearly faint ramen stand owner who afterward swore up and down that the boy was a demon in disguise.

He walked for at least three hours to the east in silence, not a single thought crossed his numbed mind. This day was very… taxing on the boy's mind. It was incomparable. But it was then that his ever-watchful guardian angel spoke, somewhat snapping him out of his lethargy.

'My son, thine quest for vengeance was sated in an admirable way, but now is the time that your training will begin. Thine leader, the Hokage, once taught thee, moulded thine body into peak condition. It is here where I shall resume that dead man's goal for you to become strong beyond all reckoning. Continue walking to the ocean, and then I shall reveal to thee the location of your home while I teach thou the meaning of power. It will not be easy, my bringer of chaos, but I know that the ability rests within thee. Know that thine prowess cannot and will not be surpassed once I am finished with thee. '

"Of course, my Father of Pandemonium, I swear that I will become powerful, more powerful than anyone, and I will wreak havoc where the seeds of my vengeance have been strewn. I will avenge… myself. These Akatsuki will die. Konoha will die. Orochimaru will die. They will all burn with blinding agony before they beg me for release…"

Naruto would never know just how bemused the beast inside of him was. The boy's own dark, twisted emotions were being played with by the world, and the Kyuubi could only watch in morbid fascination as his vessel not only promised, but absolutely exuded the promise of death. The Kyuubi would be proud to be known throughout history as the demon inside the most heinous, violent and powerful Jinchuuriki of all time.

It was elsewhere, in a dark cavern where faint, violet eyes gazed upon a group of few adults, all clad in black robes emblazoned with red, stylized clouds. The group of people stood, or in some cases sat or crouched, in silence, as if waiting in this dark cavern for something to happen. It was only moments later that a strange, plant-like maw opened from the floor in the midst of the group of people, revealing that it, too, wore the black robes. The maw opened, revealing that it was a man whose face was pitch black on the right side, and pure white on the left. He spoke after fully materializing from the ground inside the cavern. "Pain-sama, I bring news of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki…" One voice spoke deeply, with a smooth baritone voice, the other was higher pitched and almost sickeningly similar to a child. The spoke together, the sound utterly terrifying to those who've never heard it.

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki has killed Kisame and Itachi with the same… _unknown_ ability that he used to defeat the Ichibi in combat during the invasion of Konoha. I nearly died from being near the epicenter, it was magnificently destructive and powerful, although I fear he will be beyond most of our abilities to defeat, considering he killed Itachi and Kisame quickly…"

"This is troubling, Zetsu," spoke the man designated as Pain, "… I trust you gathered what remained of them?"

"Yes, master…" Zetsu replied as he held forth two black rings with different colors adorning both.

"Although this is an… unexpected hindrance, I expect those of you who remain to continue with your duties as previously ordered. We will converge on the Kyuubi's vessel when we have recollected our powers and have collected the majority of the other Bijuu… Until then, none of you are to interact with the boy. Zetsu, keep an eye on him. Akatsuki, you have your orders…"

The shadowy figures of the outlawed organization dispersed into the shadows, while the plant man recovered his face with the plant maw and delved back into the earth. Only two remained, the man designated as Pain and a blue haired woman. As if on cue, the purple-eyed man looked at her and spoke. "You have something on your mind, Konan. Speak."

"Pain-sama, I… I fear that we may not be enough to defeat the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, especially if we wait… because he will only grow in strength as well…"

"Konan, I believe that all of Akatsuki, together, can defeat that menace and bring peace to the world, as our goal has always been. Yahiko will not have died in vain. We will defeat the boy and save this forsaken world…"

Five more figures dressed in Akatsuki robes appeared around the duo, and although they were steeped in the shadows of the underground cavern, Konan could still clearly see the unique purple eyes of the Rinnegan on each set of eyes.

THE END OF PART ONE!

A/N:

Plums- Gotcha. I was so focused on everything else I never really paid attention to that, so I hope this new chapter (and subsequent ones as well) will be much easier to understand.

Alex301- You felt what I intended for my readers to feel, and I'm glad that you expressed that. I hope you see now, however, that Kyoko was NOT using Naruto, but rather being used herself by Naruto's enemies.

Lazyman12- I hope this was epic enough for you.

Thoughts13- I'm glad someone has something rather positive to say about the Shakespearian-style speaking.

Dracohalo117- Keep reviewing dude. I always count on you to say something. By the way, nice reading list.

Note to everyone:

The next chapter is basically the end of Shakespearian-style speaking. Want to know why? You'll have to wait to find out. HOPEFULLY after that, all of you will stop complaining about the Old English and enjoy the story more. It's a bastard-and-a-half to write like that, anyway. But I did employ that style of speaking for a reason, despite those who think it's unimportant.

On that note, this chapter marks the end of part one, and thus this is the literal halfway point of the story. From here on out, we'll be journeying towards the final conflict. Just a few more chapters and then we'll have our multiple-part finale. Hurrah!

Erm… I think I'll update my other story a few chapters before coming back to this story. I really feel like I need to get The Last Ones up a few chapters, especially with the… raw potential and length of it. Although the sheer extent of that story line is rather imposing, I can't wait to start typing up the good parts. I usually work on two stories at a time, anyway, so expect at least two chapters of The Last Ones before I update this one again. That story has shorter chapters, so it won't be long.

(The following is IMPORTANT for all of my faithful readers!)

***I will definitely finish this story long before The Last Ones… And because I write more than one story at any given time, I will begin writing my third story by the time I finish this one. And I want YOU readers (yes, all of you!) to vote for which story idea you would like me to write after this story is finished. To see the contenders, simply go to my profile and read the summaries. To vote on whichever story you want me to write next, simply read the rules and leave a REVIEW or a PRIVATE MESSAGE with the title of your choice. It won't be long until it's started...***

I'm taking off from school this semester, I'm only working and I have loads of free time. I want to finish this story by summer, and progress my other story quite a bit. Sometimes, sadly, I can't find the inspiration to continue writing. I beg of you, my faithful readers, send me nagging and heated, angry and pestering private messages or comments to force me to work on it. That's usually the only way I get things done on time—when someone nags me, ha. But seriously, if I take too long… don't be afraid to nag at me.

Seriously.

Well, until next we meet, I bid you a fond farewell. Have fun exercising your right to vote.


End file.
